Kung Pao Chicken

Believe it or not I have never made any Asian food-ever. I can’t believe it myself, it’s one of my favorites I just never gave it a try. And that’s a shame; it’s always delicious and usually comes 30 minutes after I order it.  And yes I’m always hungry about an hour later. I’m not sure why I have waited so long to make the Asian deliciousness, maybe because I make what I know. Usually Italian, American, or what restaurateurs like to call “eclectic American”, or fusion. This to me means a mix of everyone’s best flavors and dishes.

So what did I do first?? Research of course, I mean I know what it’s supposed to taste like, and I have the cooking skills. But I need some ideas, and I don’t have any Asian cookbooks (bummer). So I looked through some of the many magazine subscriptions I’m receiving, and I found a few. But being a man who rarely follows recipes exactly, I found some I was sure I could tweak. The following is the one I enjoyed last night. I found it in Cooking Light magazine, and of course I made changes.

Ingredients

Dark Sesame oil- 2 tbsp

Onion- 1 cup (sliced)

Yellow pepper- 1 cup (sliced)

Red Pepper- 1 cup (sliced)

Snow peas- 1 ½ cup

Garlic- 2 tbsp (minced)

Chicken broth- 1 ½ cup

Soy sauce- 6 tbsp (feel free to use low sodium, I did)

Brown sugar- 2 tsp

Cornstarch- 4 tsp

Crushed red pepper- 1 tsp

Chicken- 1 ½ pounds (thighs)

Peanuts- 4 tbsp (unsalted, to garnish)

Method to the Madness

1)      Heat the Sesame oil in a large sauté pan or wok. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes or until translucent, add the garlic and cook for another 30-40 seconds. Add the chicken and cook until brown on all sides.

2)      In a mixing bowl add the chicken stock, crushed red peppers, brown sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch. Mix well until sugar dissolves. Add the mix to the pan and bring to a boil. Add the peppers and the snow peas. Cook for 4-6 minutes until sauce begins to thicken, and the veggies are cooked but still crisp. Plate and sprinkle with the peanuts.

3)      ENJOY!!!