If you all didn’t know by now, Asian food is in one of my favorite categories of food. Prior to keto, grabbing take-out was the time of the week I looked forward to the most. From Sweet and Sour Chicken to Grilled Short Ribs, I’ve tried to recreate as many favorites as I can into keto friendly recipes that everyone can enjoy.

Kung Pao Chicken is traditionally a spicy stir fry made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers. It normally calls for Sichuan peppercorns, but since they can be a bit expensive and for some hard to get – we replace that with the bird’s eye chili for heat. They’re available in most grocery stores and they pack a real punch!

It’s a relatively spicy dish, but the flavors sing and each note comes through perfectly. The green pepper, scallions, peanuts, and chili paste really come together for a great bite each and every time. If you’re not much of a fan of spicy, try cutting this down to 1 or 1 1/2 chili pepper. Definitely make sure you have room to serve these over some cauliflower fried rice (in bacon fat!) or over some zoodles.

Yields 3 servings of Keto Kung Pao Chicken

The Preparation

The Ingredients

2 medium Chicken Thighs, bone in skin on
1 tsp. Ground Ginger
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1/4 cup Peanuts
1/2 medium Green Pepper
2 large Spring Onions
4 red Bird’s Eye Chilis, de-seeded

The Sauce

1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tbsp. Chili Garlic Paste
1 tbsp. Reduced Sugar Ketchup
2 tsp. Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp. Maple Extract
10 drops Liquid Stevia

The Execution

1. Debone chicken using kitchen shears. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Season with salt, pepper, and ground ginger.

2. Heat a pan over medium-high heat and once very hot, add chicken. Let chicken cook until browned (about 10 minutes). I advise using a splatter screen or covering the pan with paper towels as there will be grease splash-back.

3. Chop up and prep vegetables and chilis. Set aside.

4. Prepare sauce by combining all ingredients together and mixing well.

5. Once the chicken is browned, stir everything together and let cook for a few minutes more. Add vegetables and peanuts to the pan and allow to cook down (about 3-4 minutes).

6. Add sauce to the pan and let it boil down to reduce slightly. It should have almost a sticky texture once done.

7. Serve on top of your favorite side dish. For us, it’s fried cauliflower rice!

This makes a total of 3 servings of Keto Kung Pao Chicken. Per serving, it comes out to be 362 Calories, 27.4g Fats, 3.2g Net Carbs, and 22.3g Protein.

Keto Kung Pao Chicken	Calories	Fats (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Net Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce	10	0	0	0	0	1
2 tbsp. Chili Garlic Paste	10	0	1	0	1	0
1 tbsp. Reduced Sugar Ketchup	5	0	1	0	1	0
2 tsp. Rice Wine Vinegar	0	0	0	0	0	0
2 tsp. Sesame Oil	80	9.3	0	0	0	0
1/2 tsp. Maple Extract	3	0	0	0	0	0
2 chicken Thighs, bone in and skin on	768	58	0	0	0	57
1 tsp. Ground Ginger	6	0	1	0	1	0
1/2 Green Bell Pepper	15	0	3	1	2	1
2 medium Spring Onion	10	0	2	1	1	1
1/4 cup Peanuts, chopped	160	14	5	2	3	7
4 red Chile Peppers	16	1	0.5	0	0.5	0
Salt and Pepper to Taste	2	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	1085	82.3	13.5	4	9.5	67
Per Serving ( /3 )	361.7	27.4	4.5	1.3	3.2	22.3