Kung Pao chicken is a Sichuan dish of diced chicken stir-fried with roasted peanuts, dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns in a sweet, salty and numbing sauce. It takes its English name from Gongbao, an honorary title held by Ding Baozhen, a Qing dynasty governor of Sichuan province in the late nineteenth century, and food historians generally date the dish's invention to the mid to late 1800s, attributing it to a chef in Ding's household. Several competing anecdotes explain exactly how the dish came to carry Ding's title, none of them fully verified, and Chinese food historians continue to dispute the precise circumstances of its creation even while agreeing on the Sichuanese origin and the rough nineteenth century date.
Facts
Disputed
Origin Period, From (Year)Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks the mid-to-late 19th century the dish is credited as invented, believed named after Ding Baozhen (1820-1886), a late Qing dynasty official; the exact year is not documented and the origin itself is uncertain. Origin Period, To (Year)Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks the end of Ding Baozhen's tenure as Governor-General (Viceroy) of Sichuan and the year of his death, the period the dish's invention and naming (Gongbao, his honorary title) is credited to, closing the bracket the live origin-start-year fact opens at 1850 (the mid-to-late 19th century estimate). The exact year of the dish's invention within his tenure is not documented. Classification
Dietary SuitabilityContains Meat or Poultry 1 Origin RegionSourced to the subject's own account Connections
Associated With
In Cuisine
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Uses Ingredient
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Represents the soy sauce seasoning central to the dish.
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.entity record, Name (dietary-suitability)
Name: Kung Pao Chicken
- In Cuisine: Chinese Cuisine
View the Source 2. Kung Pao Chicken (Wikipedia)
WikipediaNames
The dish's origins are uncertain, but it is believed to be named after Ding Baozhen (1820-1886), a late Qing dynasty official and governor of Sichuan Province.
Names (Pinyin: Gongbao jiding)
During the Cultural Revolution, the dish's name became politically incorrect because of its association with the imperial system.
History
From its origins in Sichuan cuisine, the dish's popularity has spread throughout China, spawning a number of regional variations-some of which are less spicy than the classic version.
View the Source 3. Ding Baozhen (Wikipedia)
WikipediaDing Baozhen (Wikipedia), infoboxQuote, Ding Baozhen (Wikipedia), infobox
Governor General (Viceroy) of Sichuan Province In office 1876-1886
The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014- Uses Ingredient: Chili Pepper
- Uses Ingredient: Soybean
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