Spicy Kung Pao Chicken Pizza

Spicy Kung Pao Chicken Pizza is an Asian-inspired pizza topped with chicken, lots of fresh veggies, and a hot and spicy sauce.

I used to be pretty boring when it came to pizza toppings.  Just plain old pepperoni pizza was always my choice.  Occasionaly, when I was feeling adventurous, I throw on some onions.  I like thin crust, sprinkled with parmesan cheese, and folded in half when I eat it.  I was in a bit of a pizza rut, so to speak.

I don't know what made me decide to start experimenting with pizza toppings-- oh, wait...yes, I do.  I actually just remebered it as I was typing this.  It was a cheesesteak pizza my husband and I ordered ages ago.  Philly cheesesteaks are in my top three fave foods, so a cheesesteak pizza sounded too good not to try.  Needless to say, it was amazing and soon I was daydreaming about all of my other favorite dishes that I could morph into pizzas.

My soon-to-be 5 year old is now in love with pineapple on her pizza, and one of my top picks is Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pizza.  My husband is still a pepperoni man, but he let's me get a little crazy with the toppings once in a while.

At first this Spicy Kung Pao Chicken Pizza was a hard sell for him.  He can't get into chicken on pizza for some reason.  But when it came out of the oven, it was all hot and bubbly and melty cheesy and he just couldn't resist.  He decided he'd have "just one slice".  One slice turned into three. I love when I get him to like something he thought he didn't.  Win.

If you're looking to add a little spice to your pizza night, this Spicy Kung Pao Chicken Pizza if the perfect way to do it!

Spicy Kung Pao Chicken Pizza


Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup Kung Pao Stir Fry Sauce (I used Simply Asia)
• 1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced. 
• 2 green onions (green part only), thinly sliced
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
• olive oil

Instructions

1. Warm the water and olive oil to 120° in a small saucepan.  
2. Put 1 cup of flour and the yeast into your stand mixer bowl.  Add the warmed liquids and combine with a paddle attachment at medium speed for 3 minutes.  Add the salt, then add the flour a little at a time to the bowl with the mixer running.  The mixture will form into a ball.  If after adding all of the flour your dough is still too sticky, add additional flour 1 tbsp at a time until the dough is a soft tacky ball.  If the dough is too stiff, add additional water ½ tbsp at a time.
3. Switch to a dough hook attachment and mix for 5 minutes (or hand knead for 3-5 minutes).  
4. Turn the dough into a greased bowl (I use olive oil and rub it all over the inside of the bowl) and cover with a clean dish towel.  Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
5. Preheat your oven to 425° F.
6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll out to a 16 inch circle.  Lightly grease a pizza pan with olive oil and transfer the dough to the pan.
7. In a small bowl, combine half of the stir fry sauce and the chicken.  Spread half of the chicken over the dough along with half of the onion, peppers, garlic, green onions, and cheese.  Drizzle the remaining stir fry sauce over the toppings and then finish with the remaining onions, peppers, garlic and cheese, reserving the remaining green onions to top the pizza with after it comes out of the oven.  Lightly drizzle the pizza with olive oil.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.  Top with reserved green onions.

Notes

• Source: Me.  I entered this recipe in a Simply Asia recipe contest last summer and I just remembered that I never put it here on my blog!