Comments on: Kung Pao Chicken

By: Karina Carrel

Karina Carrel — Sun, 17 May 2026 03:01:28 +0000

In reply to Kevin. Hi Kevin, Yes, absolutely still velvet! The cornstarch and baking soda will give the shrimp that perfect snappy texture. Use the exact same marinade ingredients, but only marinate for 5 to 10 minutes. Sear the shrimp quickly—just 1 to 2 minutes per side until pink, then remove them from the pan to prevent overcooking. Follow the rest of the recipe as written, tossing the shrimp back in at the very end just to coat them in the thickened sauce. Xx

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 02:42:33 +0000

Great recipe! Made it for several years. How can I do this with shrimp? Still velveting?

By: Karina Carrel

Karina Carrel — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:16:14 +0000

In reply to Amanda.

Hey Amanda! Great question.

For this recipe, no, I don’t rinse the marinade off. It’s designed to go straight from the bowl into the wok to create that delicious, tender coating.

However, I totally hear you on the carbon steel wok issue! That’s so frustrating. Baking soda is alkaline and can definitely be harsh on a wok’s seasoning. Since it’s giving you trouble, you can absolutely try an alternative, just skip the baking soda. Try a more traditional velveting method using only cornstarch, a splash of the soy sauce and wine, and maybe an egg white. Mix that with your chicken. You’ll still get a beautifully tender result without the risk to your wok’s surface.

The cornstarch by itself shouldn’t be the problem; the baking soda is the likely culprit here.

Hope that helps save your wok! Let me know how it turns out.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 23:21:01 +0000

Do you need to rinse off the velveting mixture off the chicken before cooking? I keep reading the baking soda needs to be rinsed off. I’ve made this before without rinsing and I used my seasoned carbon steel wok and I’ve found anytime I use baking soda it tears up my wok! It’s so bad I have to completely scrub and re-season it! And yes my wok is properly seasoned. When I don’t use baking soda, I don’t have that problem. I think corn starch did the same thing to it. Any suggestions? Do you need to rinse the chicken before cooking? Thanks.

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 23:16:03 +0000

I used spicy jalapeños and no sugar. It turned out just slightly more tart than I planned, but that ended up being good. I used rice wine vinegar, but didn’t have the wine.

Pan roasted peanuts elevated it.