Kung pao chicken is mildly spicy, sweet and nutty. Meanwhile, Szechuan chicken is spicier and is not sweet or nutty. These two dishes are pretty similar. Therefore, many people confuse between the two dishes.
Szechuan shrimp vs Kung Pao shrimp
However, the main difference between the Szechuan and kung pao versions is their spice level. Although both dishes have almost the same ingredient mix of sugar or honey, bell peppers, prawns and other seasonings, the Kung Pao variant adds nuts and has lesser spicy ingredients.
Szechuan and kung pao are two of the most popular, and they are often compared. Szechuan is a spicy dish that is typically made with chili peppers, while kung pao is a sweet and sour dish that is often made with peanuts. Mongolian cuisine is also very popular, and it is known for its hearty flavors.
Kung pao chicken and General Tso's chicken are similar in that they are both chicken-based dishes with a hint of chili, but the primary difference is that latter is deep-fried and coated with a syrupy sweet and sour sauce, and the former is coated with a gentle, more balanced sauce.
Kung Pao chicken (Chinese: 宫保鸡丁), also transcribed as Gong Bao or Kung Po, is a spicy, stir-fried Chinese dish made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers.
Szechuan Chicken is much spicier when compared to Kung Pao chicken's ingredients which makes it more sweet than spicy. So, if you're looking for a milder meal, you may want to pick the latter. Both of these dishes hail from a southern region of China. So, it makes sense that they would have a similar ingredient list.
Kung pao chicken vs szechuan chicken
Kung pao chicken is mildly spicy, sweet and nutty. Meanwhile, Szechuan chicken is spicier and is not sweet or nutty. These two dishes are pretty similar. Therefore, many people confuse between the two dishes.
Szechuan cuisine, Szechwan cuisine, or Sichuan cuisine is a style of Chinese cuisine originating in Sichuan Province of southwestern China famed for bold flavors, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of chili peppers, as well as the unique flavor of the Sichuan peppercorn (花椒).
While exact Szechuan chicken recipes may vary depending on where it is served, Szechuan chicken at its core is a simple stir fry dish of chicken (traditionally chicken thigh), dried red chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili bean paste.
What does Szechuan chicken taste like? The Szechuan chicken takeout dish tastes sweet and spicy. It is usually cooked with a mix of sweet soy sauce, spicy peppercorns, and some minced ginger and garlic, which gives it a somewhat mouth-numbing sensation.
Szechuan Beef is stir-fried thin slices of marinated beef coated in a Szechuan sauce. The sauce is thick, tangy, slightly sweet with a bit of a kick. This style originally comes from the Sichuan Province in China.
Kung pao chicken is fairly spicy from the addition of both fresh and dried chilies, but also from the use of Sichuan peppercorns, which offer a tongue-numbing sensation. You can dial back on the heat by using milder chilies, and using less of the spicy peppercorns.
Kung Pao chile peppers are a late-season variety known for its large, bushy plant size and high yields. The elongated peppers bear a mild to moderate heat, ranging 7,000-12,000 SHU on the Scoville scale, and are considered to be a milder alternative to Thai or cayenne peppers.
Unlike most strong-flavored Sichuan dishes with a pungent smell and hot and spicy flavor, kung pao dishes offer a sweet and sour taste with a slight spiciness. The deliciousness and fragrance of the kung pao flavor make kung pao dishes become popular among diners at home and abroad.
adjective. ˈkəŋ-ˈpau̇ ˈküŋ-, ˈku̇ŋ- : being stir-fried or sometimes deep-fried and served in a spicy hot sauce usually with peanuts.
Kung Pao sauce has a strong flavour that is sweet, sour, savoury and with the signature tingle of heat from Sichuan pepper.
Sichuan/Szechuan cooking is spicy, yes. But don't lay that on the Sichuan peppercorns. Carl Hanson is a Senior Editor at Allrecipes who has been writing about food and wine for nearly 20 years.
Most Sichuan cuisine dishes are hot and spicy. The two deep flavors are from the abundant using of seasonings including hot pepper, hot peppercorn, Sichuan pepper, prickly ashes, broad bean chili paste, ginger and garlic, which are all pungent, spicy and hot.
One ancient Chinese account declared that the "people of Sichuan uphold good flavour, and they are fond of hot and spicy taste." Most Sichuan dishes are spicy, although a typical meal includes non-spicy dishes to cool the palate.
Szechuan Sauce is full of spicy, sweet, and savory flavors and is super easy to make at home in just 15 minutes. It is a great dipping sauce that can be also used on noodles or in stir-fry recipes.
: of, relating to, or being a style of Chinese cooking that is spicy, oily, and especially peppery.
Fragrant, strong flavors have been the foundations of the region's cuisine since Sichuan peppercorn blazed onto the food scene two millennia ago! Producing a unique tingling flavor, the 'flower peppercorn' (花椒, huā jiāo) is native to the region and the very essence and heart of Sichuan food – 麻辣 má là (numbing spice).
What no one disputes, however, is that kung pao chicken is linked to Ding, a Qing Dynasty official known as gong bao (literally palace guardian). The name of the 19th century Chinese official Ding Baozhen may be unfamiliar, but almost everyone has heard of his favorite dish: gong bao or kung pao chicken.
While the dish has remained quite popular in America and is still served happily in restaurants in China, the dish does not exactly hold the same clout . For one, chicken-based dishes are not as popular in China, as the meat produced locally is often dry and tasteless.
Kung pao chicken is an amalgamation of savory, spicy, numbing, slightly sweet, tangy, and nutty flavors. Light and dark soy sauce offer savory notes, while dried red chilies and Sichuan red peppercorns deliver spicy flavors and a tongue-tingling numbing sensation.