Uploaded November 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Gong bao ji ding (宫保鸡丁 - literally 'The Palace Guardian's Diced Chicken') is a Sichuan dish hugely popular around China, but most well known outside China as the origins of the Westernised classics kungpao chicken and chicken with cashew nuts.
Westernised versions - commonly using the old Wade-Giles romanisation of 'kung pao' instead of the pinyin 'gong bao' - often use capsicum/peppers instead of dried chillies, leave out Sichuan peppercorns (Sichuan peppercorn imports were banned in the US for a period) and incorporate more Cantonese ingredients and techniques (as the majority of Chinese chefs in the US and Australia are of Cantonese origin rather than Sichuanese) such as hoisin sauce.
This is an authentic Sichuanese version of the dish.
Here's the full recipe: adamliaw.com/recipe/gong-bao-ji-ding
Gong bao ji ding (宫保鸡丁 - literally 'The Palace Guardian's Diced Chicken') is a Sichuan dish hugely popular around China, but most well known outside China as the origins of the Westernised classics kungpao chicken and chicken with cashew nuts.
Westernised versions - commonly using the old Wade-Giles romanisation of 'kung pao' instead of the pinyin 'gong bao' - often use capsicum/peppers instead of dried chillies, leave out Sichuan peppercorns (Sichuan peppercorn imports were banned in the US for a period) and incorporate more Cantonese ingredients and techniques (as the majority of Chinese chefs in the US and Australia are of Cantonese origin rather than Sichuanese) such as hoisin sauce.
This is an authentic Sichuanese version of the dish.
Here's the full recipe: adamliaw.com/recipe/gong-bao-ji-ding
