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We make these Kung Pao potatoes on weekly rotation in our homes.

They’re hearty and wholesome enough as a meal in themselves and they always steal the show when served as a side dish as part of a larger Asian spread. They even make for delicious appetisers from time to time to set a fiery start to our parties!

If you’re wondering, Kung Pao is a signature Sichuanese flavour profile which deftly balances sweet and spicy flavours with a tongue-tickling tanginess and the gentle crunch of toasted nuts. The base flavours are endlessly adaptable, lending themselves just as well to saucy noodles as they do to this very moreish recipe for Kung Pao potatoes.

While most Kung Pao recipes involve deep-fried potatoes for that moreish crunch, here we’re roasting our potatoes. Not only do we achieve that glorious golden brown perfection, but doing so ensures that our final dish is relatively lighter.

As for the Kung Pao sauce, it comes together with just a fragrant mix of herbs, spices and aromatics, along with a few more pantry staple sauces. Don’t forget to garnish with green onions and toasted nuts before you dive in!

Steps For Making These Kung Pao Potatoes

Roast peanuts/ cashews. You can gently toast the nuts in a dry pan or roast them in the oven until lightly charred and fragrant.

Cook your potatoes. You can fry your potatoes; or for a healthier option, air-fry or bake the potatoes, sliced into cubes.

Cook the Kung Pao sauce: We start by sautéing our herbs, spices and aromatics (such as garlic, ginger, sesame seeds and chilli flakes) in sesame oil until fragrant. Then we add the key sauces for our Kung Pao flavours:
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Hot sauce of choice (Sriracha works well too!)
- Sugar (optional)
- Corn flour slurry (corn flour or corn starch whisked with water).

Toss in the potatoes. Once the sauce thickens and comes to a lively simmer, toss in your potatoes, mixing well to combine.

Garnish. Garish your Kung Pao potatoes with sesame seeds, scallions and the roasted nuts. Serve hot and DIVE IN!

If you’re serving these Kung Pao potatoes as part of a larger spread, here are a few dishes you could pair it with:

Spicy Asian-Style Cauliflower Wings

These sticky garlicky crispy cauliflower wings are proof that cauliflower is one of the most underrated and versatile veggies to cook with! Serve these as an appetiser or as part of a hearty meal paired with rice.

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Garlic & Scallion Fried Rice

If you love garlicky fried rice, you need to try this version which is speckled with scallions too for a fragrant touch!

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Korean Vegetable Pancakes (Yachaejeon)

Crispy on the outside, soft and flaky on the inside and packed with veggies – these savoury Korean pancakes are perfect as an appetiser or side dish, paired with a light dipping sauce.

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Kung Pao Potatoes

Ayushi Gupta-Mehra | The Foodie Diaries

These tongue-tickling potatoes balance sweet and spicy flavours with a nutty tanginess. Pile them over hot rice for a deeply savoury meal in themselves, or serve these potatoes as a side dish to a larger Asian spread!

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Asian, Fusion

Servings 2

Ingredients

For the Potatoes

3-4 Potatoes (cut into cubes)
2-3 tbsp Oil of choice
1-2 tsp Salt (to taste)

For the Kung Pao Sauce

1/4 cup peanuts/cashews
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
3-4 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 Knob of Ginger (grated)
2-3 tsp Sesame Seeds
2-3 tsp Gochugaru or Chili Flakes
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce (sub with regular soy sauce if you prefer)
2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
1-2 tbsp Hot Sauce (e.g. Sriracha or hot sauce of choice)
1-2 tsp Sugar
½ tbsp Corn Starch (mixed with 3 tbsp water)

Instructions

For the Potatoes

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Peel and cut 3-4 potatoes into cubes.
Soak the cubed potatoes in water for 15-20 minutes. Drain and completely pat-dry.
Add the potatoes to a baking tray. Drizzle liberally with olive oil and salt. Toss well to ensure that each piece of potato is evenly coated.
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are crisp and golden-brown. Remove the tray at the halfway mark, flipping the potatoes to ensure they roast evenly.

For The Sauce

Roast the cashews/ peanuts in a dry pan, until lightly charred and fragrant. Set aside.
Add some sesame oil or oil of choice to the pan and stir in the garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, chili flakes.
Sauté for a few minutes, stirring regularly until fragrant.
Then stir in the soy sauces, rice vinegar, hot sauce, sugar and corn flour slurry (corn flour/ corn starch whisked with the water)
Let the sauce thicken and come to a saucy simmer. Then toss in your potatoes.
Serve HOT garnished with scallions, sesame seeds and the toasted cashews/ peanuts and DIVE IN!

Video

Notes

You can fry/ air-fry your potatoes instead if you prefer.

Keyword air fryer recipes, chili potatoes, crispy potatoes, easy asian recipes, Easy Vegetarian Recipes, potato recipes, vegan asian recipes

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