Kung Pao Chicken: Quintessential Chinese Cuisine 宫保鸡丁：中国菜的代名词

宫保鸡丁，又称宫爆鸡丁，川菜传统名菜，由鸡丁、干辣椒、花生米等炒制而成。由于其入口鲜辣，鸡肉的鲜嫩配合花生的香脆，广受大众欢迎。尤其在英美等西方国家，宫保鸡丁“泛滥成灾”，几成中国菜代名词，情形类似于意大利菜中的意大利面条。
Kung Pao chicken is a traditional Sichuan dish which is very popular among the masses because of its spicy taste of dried chili peppers, tender chicken cubes and crunchy peanuts. In western countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, Kung Pao chicken is a mainstay of Chinese cuisine, like Italian pasta.
宫爆鸡丁和宫保鸡丁
Kung Pao Chicken and Gong Bao Chicken
宫爆鸡丁原来是不叫宫爆鸡丁的，应该是宫保鸡丁的。现在大大小小的中餐馆中，“宫保鸡丁”这道菜可谓司空见惯。至于有些菜单上写成了“宫爆鸡丁”，是有人认为烹制方法为“爆炒”，其实这是一种误解，没有弄清楚“宫保鸡丁”的由来。
In standard Mandarin, Kung Pao chicken is gongbaojiding. Today, gongbaojiding is available in every Chinese restaurant, big or small. But on the menu of some restaurants, the dish is written as Kung Pao chicken.
说到“宫保鸡丁”，当然不能不提它的发明者——丁宝桢。据《清史稿》记载：丁宝桢，字稚璜，贵州平远人，咸丰三年进士，光绪二年任四川总督。据传，丁宝桢对烹饪颇有研究，喜欢吃鸡和花生米，尤其喜好辣味。他在四川总督任上的时候创制了一道将鸡丁、红辣椒、花生米下锅爆炒而成的美味佳肴。这道美味本来只是丁家的“私房菜”，但后来越传越广，尽人皆知。但是知道它为什么被命名为“宫保”的人就不多了。
Talking about Gong Bao Chicken, we cannot forget its inventor Ding Baozhen. According to History of the Qing Dynasty: Ding Baozhen, styled Zhihuang, was born in Pingyuan of Guizhou Province. He became a candidate in the highest imperial examinations in the third year of the reign of Emperor Xianfeng, and became the governor-general of Sichuan Province in the second year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu. Allegedly, Ding Baozhen was an expert of recipe and liked eating chicken and peanuts. He specially liked spicy food. While he worked as the governor-general of Sichuan, he invented the dish of deep frying chicken cubes, dry chili and peanuts together. This dish was originally the home dish of Ding’s family, but later, it became a household name. But few people knew why it is called Gong Bao Chicken.
所谓“宫保”，其实是丁宝桢的荣誉官衔。据《中国历代职官词典》上的解释，明清两代各级官员都有“虚衔”。最高级的虚衔有“太师、少师、太傅、少傅、太保、少保、太子太师、太子少师、太子太傅、太子少傅、太子太保、太子少保”。上面这几个都是封给朝中重臣的虚衔，没有实际的权力，有的还是死后追赠的，通称为“宫衔”。在咸丰以后，这几个虚衔不再用“某某师”而多用“某某保”，所以这些最高级的虚衔又有了一个别称——“宫保”。丁宝桢治蜀十年，为官刚正不阿，多有建树，于光绪十一年死在任上。清廷为了表彰他的功绩，追赠“太子太保”。如上文所说，“太子太保”是“宫保”之一，于是他发明的菜由此得名“宫保鸡丁”，也算是对这位丁大人的纪念了。
The so-called “Gong Bao” was actually Ding Baozhen’s honorary. According to the Dictionary of Official Positions of Various Dynasties in China, officials in the Ming and the Qing dynasties had honorary titles. The highest honorary titles include “Tai Shi,” “Shao Shi,” “Tai Fu,” “Shao Fu,” “Tai Bao,” “Shao Bao,” “Tai Shi for the Prince,” “Shao Shi for the Prince,” “Tai Fu for the Prince,” “Shao Fu for the Prince,” Tai Bao for the Prince,” and “Shao Bao for the Prince.” The above-mentioned honorary titles were for the important officials in the imperial court and they did not mean power in reality. Some titles were honored after their death. These titles were known as “Gong title.” After the reign of Emperor Xianfeng, there were no “whatever Shi” for honorary titles while “whatever Bao” was used more frequently. Thus, these honorary titles had a nickname – Gong Bao. Ding Baozhen worked in Sichuan for a decade. He was upright and made a lot of achievements. He died at his post in the 11th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu. In order to praise his performances, the imperial court of the Qing Dynasty posthumously honored him the title of “Tai Bao for the Prince.” As mentioned above, “Tai Bao for the Prince” was one of the “Gong Bao.” Thus, the dish he invented got its name Gong Bao Chicken. This is a commemoration for Ding Baozhen.
时过境迁，很多人已不知“宫保”为何物，就想当然地把“宫保鸡丁”写成了“宫爆鸡丁”，虽一字之差，但却改变了纪念丁宝桢的初衷。
As time goes by, many people know nothing about Gong Bao and it is no strange that they write Gong Bao Chicken into Kung Pao Chicken. This mistake goes counter against the idea of commemorating Ding Baozhen.