Kung pao Chicken is probably the most famous Chinese dish. It is said to be invented by a government official in Qing Dynasty(清朝) almost two hundred years ago. Kung pao was his title. The dish is a mixture of stir-fried diced chicken, peanuts and special Si Chuan chili. It should taste a little sweet, sour and of course spicy, along with the flavour of peanuts. The making of this dish is quite complicated, including chicken processing, preserving a little bit, stir-frying with chili, then soy sauce, and then vinegar, winne, etc. There are so many steps and each shows the cooking skills of the cook.
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Being a famous dish, Kung Pao Chicken can almost be found in every Chinese restaurant in the world. However the local Si Chuan chili is needed for the best flavour of this dish. Unfortunately such chili can not be easily acquired outside of China. So best place to have this dish is in Si Chuan province. But you don't have to worry about it while you are in Shanghai, there are quite a few good Si Chuan cuisine restaurants in Shanghai.
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Chuan Guo Yan Yi (川国演义)
Ba Guo Bu Yi (巴国布衣)

	Chinese	Pin Yin
Kung Pao Chicken	宫保鸡丁	Gong Bao Ji Ding
Qing Dynasty	清朝	Qing Chao
Chili	辣椒	La Jiao
Si Chuan Cuisine	川菜	Chuan Cai