One day, Ding Baozhen went to Daming Lake in Jinan, Shandong Province, with a family of servants dressed in light clothing for a private visit. It was almost noon and he was already hungry when suddenly he smelled a fragrance coming from a nearby farm, so he entered the courtyard. He saw a middle-aged man frying vegetables in the kitchen. Ding Gongbao, who loved cooking, hurried to ask the man what he was frying, and the man responded: "Diced stir-fried chicken." The man enthusiastically invited Ding Baozhen to try it, and Ding Baozhen tasted it without hesitation, noticing it was very fresh.
The final product is bright red and tender chicken, with a crispy, savory, fresh, and spicy flavor, perfect for drinking and eating. Ding Baozhen nodded, finding a delicious in the dish, gently tapping it, and said "This is truly a special flavor." He remembered the place and soon after returning home, he sent someone to hire Han as the family chef at a high salary.
Whenever a distant guest arrived, he used this dish as the grand finale to serve his guests, and he never got tired of eating it, calling it delicious. Later, Ding Baozhen was transferred to the Sichuan governorship. Before leaving to seek Hanzi's opinions, he felt his kindness, so he brought his family to Sichuan with Ding Baozhen, and then introduced fried chicken to Sichuan, where his descendants replaced pepper with hot chili peppers to create the Sichuan flavor of Kung Pao Chicken.
Shortly after Ding Baozhen’s death, Kung Pao Chicken was presented to the emperor as a tribute dish by local officials in Sichuan, becoming one of the most famous dishes of the imperial family.
