.kung pao chicken.

This was a request I received from April. She was asking if I had a good tried and true recipe for Kung Pao Chicken. Surprisingly, I did not! So I did a little researching and came up with something that was easy and delicious. I'm definitely adding it to my Chinese menu rotation!



I will note that this dish is spicy, which can be omitted all together, but you'll be left with, in my opinion, a very boring dish. The spice is what makes this authentic.



In a bowl, mix together the marinade:


1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine (use sake or dry sherry for substitute)
1 tsp oil



Cut up 4 chicken thighs into bite size pieces. You could use chicken breast, but you really do want a dark meat for this recipe.



Put the chicken and marinade in a ziploc and let sit for 30 minutes.



Meanwhile, slice some green onion on the diagonal.




Finely sliver some fresh gingerroot.



Thinly slice 2 cloves garlic.




And toast some peanuts in a 400 degree oven. I went a little crazy with the peanuts and there were far too many in the dish. Do only HALF of what you see in this picture.




In a bowl, whisk together:



1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce (this is actually a mushroom soy sauce. I had to ask at the asian market here and was given the 411 on it. LOL)

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp black vinegar (found in asian markets)

2 Tbsp water

1 tsp cornstarch




Heat your wok with about 1 Tbsp oil. Add the marinated chicken and cook until about 70% done. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Wash out the pan.




Heat the wok back up with another tablespoon of oil. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for a few seconds.




At this stage, you really are supposed to add red chiles, deseeded and thinly sliced, but I couldn't find them so I used crushed red pepper flakes. I added way too many. LOL SPICY!!!!!!!!!! But it was goooooooddddd. If you can't find the red chiles, use red pepper flakes but only a dash.




Add the peanuts and mix everything around.




Add the chicken back to the wok.




Pour in the cooking sauce and stir. It will begin thickening immediately. Remove the pan from the burner once it's thick and coats all the chicken.




Add your green onion and toss to coat. Serve with steamed white rice.



We had ours with rice and sweet and sour chicken. Yummy!

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_83dk9pstd5

.lettuce wraps.

I know my friend, Heidi, won't like this recipe because she got sick on lettuce wraps at P.F. Changs way back when. Me on the other hand.. LOVE THEM!


I was at Chili's last week having lunch with my girlfriends and I had some lettuce wraps. I thought it might be fun to find a recipe and make them for my family.


This is kind of a mock up of the Chili's recipe. I added and changed a few things and I must say the results were awesome. This is a spicy dish. If you can't tolerate spice, omit the chili oil and red pepper flakes. I didn't think it would be as hot as it was, but after taking a few bites, I took the plate away from my daughter and let her have chicken nuggets.


This dish might seem time consuming. The sauces can be made the day before and then heated up prior to serving. It took me about an hour and half from start to finish.
Let's start with our sauces.



Make them all at the same time. Put three saucepans in front of you. In the first one, we're going to make the Stir Fry Sauce.



In a small bowl, put 1/4 cup cold water and 1 tsp cornstarch. Mix well with a fork.

In the saucepan put:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
1/3 c. soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp chili oil
1/2 tsp grated ginger

For the ginger, prep a bunch of it so you don't have to keep grating it.
Just peel some fresh gingerroot and use the fine grate. I love fresh ginger. The flavor is out of this world!
Put the saucepan on the stove and heat over medium. Bring to a boil and add the water/cornstarch. Let reduce down until a little thick. Turn off the heat and set aside.



Chop a little parsley. Put in saucepan #2.
We're going to make the Sesame Ginger Dipping Sauce now.
Using the same bowl you made the water/cornstarch. Do it again. Put 1/4 c. water and 1 tsp cornstarch in the bowl. Mix well using a fork.

In the saucepan you put the parsley, add:
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. rice wine vinegar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 dash red pepper flakes



Put this pan on the stove and heat over medium heat. Bring to a boil and add the water/cornstarch. Mix while it boils and it will thicken. Remove from heat. Set aside.


Now for the final sauce. Peanut Dipping Sauce.



In saucepan #3, put:
1/2 c. peanut butter (creamy)
1/3 c. water
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp chili oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp brown sugar


Put on the stove over medium heat. Let it cook for a few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.



These are water chestnuts. They are yummy and crunchy. They'll add a nice contrast in texture.
Drain the water from the can. We need 1/4 cup chopped up. Put in a small bowl or on a plate. We'll need them when it comes time to fry.

Cutting on a diagonal, cut 6 green onion. The asian countries sure like their veggies pretty in their food. You could cut these straight, but why? Might as well have some fun with it! :D

See what I mean? They look so pretty even sitting in a bowl!
Put these in a bowl or on the same plate as the water chestnuts.



I forgot to take a picture of this step, but chop up some cilantro. (about 1/4 cup)
Put that on the plate or in its own bowl.



Cut up three boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You don't want the pieces too big otherwise they'll be too big for the lettuce leaves.
















Grate 2 carrots. If you want, buy the pre-shredded carrots at the store. It'll save you a few minutes from peeling and grating by hand.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat.

Add the chicken and stir to cook all the sides.

When all the sides are just barely white, add half of the stir fry sauce. Stir to coat the chicken.

Add the water chestnuts. Cook with the chicken for 5 minutes. At this time, add the rest of the stir fry sauce.

Add the green onion. Mix in and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the cilantro.

Now add 1/4 c. peanuts. Toss everything together.

Keep cooking this for another couple minutes until the liquid has become slightly thickened. Remove from the heat.
















If you made your sauces the day before, pull them out of the fridge and heat in the microwave for a minute. Put them in serving bowls.









On your plates, put Bibb lettuce leaves in a fan-like fashion to one side. It's all about drama folks. Let's make our food pretty!
















Put a handful of carrots on the plate and spread out on the other side. Spoon some of the chicken on top of the carrots. Serve immediately!

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_58mc3tr2ds