Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs
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Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs served over U.S.-grown jasmine rice has bold flavors and the perfect combination of sweet, savory, and spicy. They are great for a weeknight dinner and great to make for meal prep.
This post has been sponsored by USA Rice. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Kroll’s Korner running!
What is Kung Pao?
Typically, Kung Pao features stir-fried chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and dried chili peppers, all coated in a flavorful, slightly thick sauce. I’ve created these meatballs so you get bite-sized kung pao flavors all in one convenient bundle!
What are the nutritional qualities and health benefits of U.S.-grown rice?
- In just one half-cup serving, there are only 100 calories.
- Rice is naturally free from sodium, cholesterol, gluten, and GMOs.
- Rice contains over 15 essential vitamins and minerals, such as folic acid, B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, selenium, fiber, iron, and zinc.
- Rice is gluten-free (even brown rice) and the least allergenic of all grains.
- It is made of complex carbohydrates that are more slowly digested and provide energy for the body’s physical activity.
- In this recipe, we use U.S.-grown jasmine rice. It has 23% of the recommended daily value of folic acid, a B vitamin the body needs to make new cells!
Ingredient Notes
- U.S.-grown rice: I love this recipe with Jasmine rice.
- Sauce:
- Chinese Black vinegar: found in most Asian grocery stores. But if you’re in a pinch, you can also use rice wine vinegar, white vinegar, or balsamic vinegar.
- Light soy sauce and dark soy sauce: light soy sauce is saltier than regular soy sauce, (Like Kikkoman) and dark soy sauce has more flavor and is slightly sweet. If you can’t find or don’t have either, using regular all-purpose Kikkoman soy sauce will work.
- Shaoxing wine: This is a rice wine that gives kung pao a taste similar to that of most restaurants.
- For the meatballs: you’ll need ground chicken, panko breadcrumbs, chili garlic sauce, egg, salt, and pepper. It’s a basic recipe because we want the sauce and rice to shine!
- For the stir fry: red and green bell peppers, celery is optional, peanuts, green onions, arbol chiles, garlic, and ginger.
Step by Step
(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)
Make the meatballs
Simply mix together the chicken meatball ingredients, along with the panko mixture, in a large bowl. Careful not to over mix.
Roll & bake
Scoop and roll into ~2 Tbsp. sized balls and place on prepared baking sheet. You’ll get about 15-18 meatballs. Bake for 15 minutes or until internal temperature of 165°F.
Stir fry time!
This comes together quickly, so be sure all ingredients are chopped, measured, and ready to go.
Add the sauce & meatballs
Stir until sauce thickens, ~5 minutes.
Serve over U.S.- grown jasmine rice
ENJOY!
Pro Tips
- Make the U.S.-grown rice and meatballs in advance, so when you’re ready to bring together the stir fry, most of the work is already done!
- Swap the ground chicken with ground tofu or a plant-based alternative for a vegetarian twist.
- Don’t skip the peanuts—they add a delightful crunch essential to the Kung Pao experience.
- Adjust the spice level by adding or reducing chili paste and dried red chilies.
- Adding the Shaoxing cooking wine to the sauce enhances the dish’s depth of flavor and brings out the umami notes.
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Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup half & half, milk, or heavy cream
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1 large egg, lightly whisked
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
For the sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
- 3 Tbsp. dark soy sauce*
- 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Chinese black vinegar*
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. light soy sauce*
- 1 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine*
- 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
For the stir fry
- 2 Tbsp. canola oil
- 1 red bell pepper, diced into 3/4 inch dice
- 1 green bell pepper, diced into 3/4 inch dice
- 2 stalks celery, diced (optional)
- 2 tsp. ginger, minced
- 2 tsp. garlic, minced
- 8-10 arbol chiles/dried red chiles, cut into 3/4 inch pieces with most seeds discarded
- 5 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup peanuts
- sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
- 1 cup Cooked U.S.- grown jasmine rice
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Meatballs:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the panade: combine the panko breadcrumbs and the half and half in a small bowl and soak for 5-10 minutes. The panko should be moist throughout, add a splash more cream to get it all saturated. You can mash it all together after it soaks to make sure.
- Mix together the rest of the chicken meatball ingredients, along with the panko mixture, in a large bowl. Careful not to over mix.
- Scoop and roll into ~2 Tbsp. sized balls and place on prepared baking sheet. You’ll get about 15-18 meatballs. Bake for 15 minutes or until internal temperature of 165°F.
- Meanwhile, whisk together all ingredients for the sauce until homogenous and set aside.
Stir fry:
- Heat oil in a wok. Once hot, add in the bell peppers and celery (if using). Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Then add in the garlic, ginger, chiles, peanuts, and green onions. Stir for 30 seconds – 1 minute.
- Add the sauce and the cooked meatballs. Cook until the sauce coats the chicken and veggies and thickens ~3-5 minutes.
- Serve over U.S.-grown jasmine rice and enjoy with sesame seeds or more green onions on top.
Video
Notes
- Storage: Store in the fridge in an air-tight container and enjoy within 3-4 days.
- Dark soy sauce: It can be substituted with all purpose soy sauce – like Kikkoman.
- Light soy sauce: It can be substituted with all purpose soy sauce – like Kikkoman.
- Chinese Black Vinegar: Substitute with 1 1/2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar or a mild balsamic vinegar.
- Shaoxing Cooking Wine: this is the ingredient that really makes kung pao taste like kung pao, so I’d recommend trying to use it. If not possible, substitute with a dry sherry wine or mirin.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
