CPK’s Kung Pao Spaghetti
A copycat recipe that you can make right at home in less than 20 minutes. And it tastes even better than the restaurant version!
Have you ever had California Pizza Kitchen’s Kung Pao Spaghetti? I’ve had it on many occasions but as good as it is, I’m just not comfortable spending $15 on a lunch dish for myself, especially when it’s during my lunch break. But now, I never have to order this because I can make it right at home in just 20 minutes!
Now if you’ve never had the CPK version, this is really a Chinese take-out favorite tossed in spaghetti noodles. It’s wonderfully flavorful and savory with that extra spicy kick to it, and there’s plenty of chicken to go around for everyone, unlike CPK who adds in a couple of pieces of chicken and then charges an additional $3 for it.
And f you want it completely vegetarian, you could even add some fried tofu cubes. That actually sounds better than the chicken. I’ll definitely be trying that next time!
CPK's Kung Pao Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 boneless, skinless thin-sliced chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup dry roasted peanuts
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
For the sauce
- ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ cup dry sherry
- 2 tablespoons red chili paste with garlic, or more, to taste
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, chicken broth, dry sherry, red chili paste, sugar, red wine vinegar, cornstarch and sesame oil; set aside.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, to taste. Add to skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Let cool before dicing into bite-size pieces; set aside.
- Add garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in pasta, chicken, peanuts and green onions.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I made this recipe with my bf today and we both loved it and agree it tastes very similar to CPK’s. You can completely cut out the dry sherry and just replace it with more chicken broth.
We also doubled up the amount of garlic and green onion in this recipe. Delish! & Thank you!
Tried this last night…..it was soooo mmmmmm yummy. I am pregnant and mostly nauseated during dinner time. So I haven’t been eating dinner lately or throwing up if I did. But last night….I had belly full of yummy Kung pao (I removed chicken pieces from my plate though as chicken gives me nausea). I am so glad I found your website. I shared it with my sisters and friends and I am so excited to try other recipes, esp firecracker chicken. Can’t wait!!! Thank you soooo much for sharing.
LOVED IT! The picky eater even ate it. I didn’t have sherry, so I used 1/4 Apple Juice and 1/4 cup broth. Turned out Great!
Thanks
Chungah, this recipe is divine! I made it exactly as printed and my husband thought he’d died and gone to heaven! Fabulous taste, with the perfect amount of kick. Hugs to you and Butters!
I made this in a crockpot and it turned out great! I left the chicken broth out so there wouldn’t be too much liquid and I didn’t have chili paste, so I substituted half siracha, half crushed red pepper and threw in some extra minced garlic. Awesome recipe, I’ll definitely make this again!
This was great! We cut the chili paste in half and subbed cashews (what was on hand) for peanuts. I’d like to try w/ peanuts next time and maybe add bamboo. Thanks for a new recipe!!
1st off, great website.
2nd, this recipe is a keeper! Outstanding flavors & really simple to make. I used
linguine since that was what was in the cupboard. The grill has always been my
domain, but as my wife is working full time too, I find myself doing more & more of
the cooking inside & I really appreciate recipes that are relatively easy & quick.
I got a bit carried away with the chili paste (I like it spicy) but my kids gobbled it
up anyway, declaring it a favorite. I couldn’t find chili paste w/garlic so I minced a couple cloves & combined the two.
I didn’t find it too salty, for what it’s worth & used regular soy sauce. 2-1/2 tablespoons of chili paste & a just a teaspoon of brown sugar. I didn’t salt the chicken, so that might have helped.
This, along with the Korean beef bowl will see regular rotation. Keep up the good work!
This, along with the
Made this tonight and everyone, even the picky kids, loved it. I could never find chili paste so I used 1 Tab. chili sauce instead and we all liked it. Husband is a vegetarian so I did roasted veggies instead of chicken also and it was great. Thanks for the recipe!
The whole family loved this! Thanks for a great recipe to add to our rotation.
Tamari, not tamarind. Oops!
I made this Tuesday night and while it was screamingly delicious, it was much too salty.
I recommend using low sodium soy or tamarind instead.
If using regular soy sauce, cut the amount in half.
Thank you for letting me know, Christopher. I actually only use low sodium soy sauce so it’s more of my default soy sauce but I have just added it to the ingredient list for my readers to use as well.
Good morning Chungah! Thank you for this DIVINE recipe! I am going to make it tonight for dinner. For people concerned with sodium amount or salty taste, I use a product I get at the health food store. It’s called Bragg’s Aminos. It is not soy sauce but tastes EXACTLY like it and, much, much healthier for you. Thank you again for all your Yummy recipes!!!
I have tried 4 of the recipes posted: Kung Poa Spaghetti, Bang-Bang Chicken, Korean Beef Bowl, and PF Changs lettuce wraps…. They were ALL spectacular…. My ENTIRE family loved them (which, as you know, can be a challenge). Thank you for the pics and the EASY to follow directions! This is a favorite site for sure!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!
Wife & Mother of 4
I made this dish last week and it was great. I added 1/2 cup sautéed and sliced mushrooms to the recipe for an additional vegetable. The end results were excellent. I ended up eating this for three days. It was just as tasty on day three as it was on day one. Tonight I am making your sesame chicken. Thanks for the great recipes!
num nums
Made this last night for the family and it was a total hit – even our six year old LOVED it! What a simple, quick & easy recipe. Leftovers the next day were even better than the night before – this is definitely a keeper in the recipe box.
I made this last night and it was delicious! I was a little scared to use the full amount of chili paste, so I started with 1 tablespoon and it didn’t really have any heat. 2 tablespoons ended up being perfect for us. Definitely spicy, but nothing too crazy. I skipped the sherry and did 3/4 cup chicken broth and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and it was perfect. Definitely a keeper! Thank you!
Awesome! The only changes I made: added 1/2 tsp dry ginger to sauce mixture for a little bit of a punch, and marinated the chicken overnight in the sauce. I BOILED the sauce an extra few minutes just to make sure any impurities from the raw chicken were cooked out before adding in the noodles. My husband doesn’t like Asian food but he asked me to put this in the rotation. Thanks!
Next time I make this again, I will skip the dry sherry. It was too much for me. Other than that, it was delicious.
This is delicious! Everyone in my family loved it. I didn’t have sherry so I used mirin cooking wine and it was wonderful. I also added fresh spinach while thickening the sauce. Broccoli sounds good too. Definitely will be making this again soon and will be trying more of your recipes. Thanks!
Just finished inhaling this for dinner. I didn’t have sherry so I used 3/4 cup chicken broth and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and it turned out amazing. It was spicy and delicious and made enough for leftovers which will keep me happy tomorrow! Excellent recipe.