Kung Pao Chicken

Homemade takeout has been a bit of a thing for me recently. Being at home more due to the pandemic, I've wanted to make some items outside of the norm for me, since even the staples become tedious when you eat them all the time. Some of my go to's for homemade dishes include pasta, chicken lo mein, stroganoff, and minestrone soup.

I've been on unique kick the past several months, trying out many Asian-inspired meals and all the curries you can dream of. The ways a few differing ingredients can transform a dish is much fun to play with, and it makes me appreciate different cuisines and cultures even more. Better yet, reading up on ingredients is a fun way to learn.

Kung Pao chicken is a spicy chicken dish often served with rice. What I didn't know about it is that the key is Sichuan peppercorns. Adding a pepper flavor while also pumping up the heat, I had to order these little guys on Amazon a few days before cooking. When it comes to new ingredients, I am fine with adding them to the collection. It just expands my cooking ability when the urge to make something new kicks in.

I toasted the peppercorns lightly in the pan I was planning to use for the dish for about 3 minutes.

I then ground the peppercorns down - this can be done using the grinder portion of a small Magic Bullet type processor, a grinder, or a mortal and pestle.

Next, I added some bell peppers, onions, chili peppers, garlic, ginger and the crushed peppercorns to a pan with some avocado oil and began cooking them.

The chicken was made differently than I'd done so previously by marinating it in rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, baking soda, and cornstarch for about 15 minutes. According to the original recipe, this is a marinating trick used by restaurants. Given the acidity of vinegar reacting with the baking soda, that makes sense.

I added the chicken to the pan once the peppers and onions began to soften, then stirred in the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, hoisin sauce, honey, and sesame oil, then simmered it for 3-5 minutes. Finally, I dissolved the cornstarch into the water and stirred that in to thicken the sauce and stirred in some green onions to finish it off.

I served the dish over some cauliflower rice (my side of choice recently).

SPICY! Those chilies did the trick and I really loved the heat that the Sichuan peppercorns added. I have to say that this chicken marinating is pretty fantastic. The chicken was very tender despite the quick cooking, and the overall dish was just plain tasty. I was very happy with this one and have officially started planting chilies in my garden so I can make this one of the regulars.

Kung Pao Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

For the chicken marinade:2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cornstarch

For the stir fry and sauce:3 tablespoons cooking oil (I used avocado)
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 tablespoons garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
3 fresh green chilies, diced
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns

1/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium preferred)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon cornstarch

4 green onions, chopped

2 cups rice, cooked

Instructions:

Cut chicken into cubes about 1 inch in size. In a small bowl, combine rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, baking soda, and cornstarch, then add chicken and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes. In a large skillet, toast peppercorns over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes, then remove from heat and grind. Add chicken to pan and cook on medium for 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, and chilies to a pan with some cooking oil and cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, until peppers begin to soften. Add in chicken, and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, hoisin sauce, honey, and sesame oil, then simmer for 3-5 minutes. In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in water, then pour into pan and stir. Continue cooking until sauce thickens, then stir in green onions. Serve over rice.