This may be a bit strange, but I was inspired to cook this dish by one of the nastiest restaurant experiences of my life. My friend and I had recently decided to go for lunch to one of the oldest (about 25 years) Chinese restaurants in our city. I had heard many nice reviews about this place from my close friends, so I definitely didn’t expect any unpleasant surprises. Oh, I was so wrong! The food was incredibly awful, we were disappointed with every dish we ordered. The Teriyaki Beef was more like a cheap beef jerky, and the Mandarin Beef tasted like a deep fried wood. But the food was not the worst part. When we made an attempt to send the food back to the kitchen, the manager told us that they would not accept it. She was pretty rude and told us that even if we were in McDonald’s we could not have returned our cheeseburger or fries back to the kitchen. Except in McDonald’s I would pay $2 for the meal not $20!! They gave us 10% or 20% discount for Teriyaki beef, and that’s it! I will never ever return to this restaurant, even if they pay me to do so.
Long story short, that day I decided that I could cook any Chinese dish better than that restaurant in my own kitchen. I came home and I wrote a letter to Santa Clause (aka my husband Sasha), and asked him to bring me a huge wok for Christmas and he did! So that’s how my new culinary journey began! I’m in love with Asian cuisine and ready to experiment with it!
Kung Pao Chicken it’s the first dish I’ve cooked in my brand new wok and it’s really really delicious, so now you can expect more Asian recipes from me. I would be happy to hear which Asian dishes are your favorite!
By the way, here is a great food blog, for those like me, who new to Asian cuisine.
Kung Pao Chicken
Ingredients:
- For Marinade: -
- rice wine or dry sherry - 2 tealespoons
- soy sauce - 1 tablespoons
- sesame oil - 1 tablespoon
- cornstarch - 1 1/2 teaspoon
- For the sauce: -
- soy sauce - 2 tablespoons
- Chinese black vinegar, or good-quality balsamic vinegar - 1 tablespoon
- hoisin sauce - 1 teaspoon
- sesame oil - 1 tablespoon
- hot chile paste - 1 tablespoon or to taste
- brown sugar - 2 teaspoons
- cornstarch - 1 teaspoon
- Ingredients: -
- chicken breast (skinless, boneless) - 1 lb, cut into chunks
- peanut or vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons
- green onion - 2, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
- garlic - 2 cloves, minced
- freshly grated ginger - 1 teaspoon
- unsalted dry-roasted peanuts - 1/4 cup
Instructions:
