Classic Kung Pao Chicken [PFB Challenge #2]
Thanks to all of you hardworking voters (I’ll assume you’ve done your homework!), I’ve made it to the next challenge in Project Food Blog! Challenge #2 is up next, and it’s all about the classics. You already know I love taking classics and reinventing them, but the challenge this time was to refrain from reinvention and seek out tradition in a cuisine I’m not familiar with. (Talk about options!)
For me, Asian cuisine is a huge section of world cuisine that I generally leave untouched. Maybe it’s the unusual ingredients or the intricate techniques. I’ve made a few take-out knock offs (sesame chicken, beef and broccoli), but for some reason, Asian cuisine seems out of my reach.
Classic Kung Pao Chicken
from Easy Family Recipes From a Chinese-American Childhood by Ken Hom
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg white
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons corn starch
2 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 dried red chilies, split lengthwise
1/4 cup shelled raw peanuts
1 tablespoon finely sliced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped scallions
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 1/2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoons Chinese black rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Mix the chicken thoroughly with the egg white, salt, sesame oil and cornstarch.
Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add the chicken pieces, stirring vigorously to keep them from sticking. When the chicken pieces turn white, in about 2 minutes, quickly drain the chicken and all of the water in a stainless-steel colander set in a bowl.
Heat peanut oil in a wok over high heat. When the wok is very hot, toss in the chilies and stir-fry for a few seconds, until they blacken slightly. Toss in the peanuts, garlic, scallions, and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute, until they are lightly browned. Add the cooked chicken, the stock, rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, salt and sesame oil, then stir in the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir-fry for two minutes. Serve at once with rice.
*Note: This is the water-cooked variation of this recipe. There’s also a oil-cooked variation in the book. I chose the water version for health reasons- I’m sure the fried version is delicious, too!
This looks incredible! Definitely voting for you…and I’d love for you to make me some! 😉 Think you could ship it to CA?
Kung Pao Chicken is my all time favorite – and yet I’ve never made it at home! Thanks for the inspiration – I’ll vote for you!
Whoa, how did I miss this? I’m voting for you for sure. This looks great and it’s my husband’s favorite meal whenever we have Chinese, so I’ll have to print this out and hopefully make it for him sometime!
Looks great and love the pictures. Nicely done. Good luck in PFB, you have my vote!
I love Kung Pao Chicken. Looks like you did a great job of it. You’ve earned my vote. Good luck with getting to the next round!
Check out my post for round 2: http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/2/view/956
this looks delicious 🙂 Good luck with project food and you got my vote for this one! Feel free to drop by 🙂 Good luck and best wishes for making to the top !! WOOHOO
jen @ http://www.passion4food.ca
Yummy—I want some! LOVE the rainbow cake. Seriously. Wicked. cool.
Great post! Looks perfect. I voted for you!
Good luck! =)
You can check out my PFB post at :http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/2/view/864
YUM this looks delicious!
It’s dangerous to look at food blogs when you’ve just got home from work STARVING.
I don’t know if I am alone on this one though – as soon as I see a list of ingredients that long I immediately put it in the too hard basket! I’m sure it would be awesome but the idea of prepping that much makes me feel a bit faint….
Love Kung Pao Chicken and you made it look easy. Great post. You got my vote. Good luck with the competition!
Looks great! And this is coming from someone who’s Chinese! 🙂
Really great to see that you embraced the challenge and tried to make something outside your comfort zone. Sending a vote your way!
Your kung pao looks delicious! (And how cute is your banner logo?!) I try to make foods with a lot of variety on my web site and I was just thinking that morning that I should get more creative with my Chinese recipes. I think I will definitely use this one in the near future! (I will be sure to link to you when I do!) But for now, I’ll just vote for you. 🙂
Here is a link to my entry in the challenge, if you have a chance to check it out: http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/2/view/1008
This looks delicious. Voted for you. Good luck!
Looks like a great dish! I love Chinese food!
Great job with this traditional Chinese dish!! Looks delicious!
Sorry I didn’t see this when the voting was live – it would have got my vote. Ken Hom seems to bring even the simplest recipe to new heights anyway but this one has me drooling even though I’ve only just eaten!!!
I’m going to have a go at this one, despite being a bit late in the season now. I don’t think I’ll even need my best food processor for it, I should be able to manage.
Thank you, it may be an unoriginal comment but you really have brought this one to life for me.
Vanessa