Friday, September 16, 2011

kung pao chicken

okay, what is up with me and chinese lately? i don't know. but then again, i do know. i LOVE chinese food. really, i do. i think it must've something to do with the being in a chinese school but not being able to eat the stuff at the canteen thing, you know? you don't? aiyer! nemindlah. well, i made kung pao chicken...i didn't know, prior to research (*ehem* research konon...) that there are actually many many versions of kung pao chicken and that you can kung pao anything you want. squidlah...prawnslah...haaaa....did you know that? why didn't you tell me??? hahaha!! so, now i know.

this is one of my favorites.


no matter where i go and which chinese restaurant i go to, i must kung pao. kung pao, i like.

so, shall we kung pao? oh, before i forget, i got this recipe from yet another blog, kungpaochickenrecipe.org. check out the name of the blog...how can you not have confidence with a name like that, right? it's a blog totally dedicated to kung pao-ing (?) hehehehe...

okay, we shall kung pao now. eh, it rhymeslah...kung pao now...kung pao now...waaahhh...best ni! kung pao...*eh sorry...didn't mean to go all gila over here...kung pao now. how? i tell you how. to kung pao. okay-okay...hahahaha!!

what you need:
15 dried red chilli peppers (use less if you don't want it hot), rinsed
6 chicken thighs, or breast. (up to you. i used breast) cubed, about ½in
3 cloves garlic, minced
 tbsp minced ginger
3 spring onions (alaahhh...go ahead, go CRAZY, use more!!!) use the white part for cooking and the green for garnishing later on.
½ cup unroasted cashew nuts
1 tbsp of sichuan peppers (optional - i didn't have any, so i tak pakai)

for the marinade:
1½ tbsp Shaoxing Wine (chinese rice wine), i of course did not add this
1 tbsp light soy sauce, didn't have any so i used regular soy sauce
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp cornstarch, or cornflour

for the sauce:
1 tsp light soy sauce, i used regular soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce, this i have
1½ tbsps sugar
1 tsp corn starch
2 tsps black vinegar, dont have so i used distilled white vinegar
1½ tbsps water
tiny dash of sesame oil

the how to:
1) mix together all ingredients for the marinade. marinade the chicken and set aside.

2)  heat cooking oil in wok, once hot, turn the heat to low and begin to stir fry the cashew nuts till golden brown. remove and drain the oil. *i of course do not need to tell you that if you are using cashews that are already roasted, you do not need to go through this process. i don't need to tell you, right?* :-p

3)  mix together all ingredients for the sauce in a separate bowl.

4)  heat some oil in wok, about 2tbsp, once hot, add in the dried chilli peppers and fry till aromatic. when you can smell the chilli, add in the minced ginger, garlic and the white parts of the spring onions. turn the heat to medium and saute till fragrant.

5)  add the marinated chicken into the wok and turn the heat on to medium-high, stir fry briskly to coat the chicken with the aromatic oil. do this for about 3-5 minutes. next, in goes the fried cashew nuts. turn the heat to high, stir to mix well.

6)  finally, add in the prepared sauce and stir-fry to coat the chicken cubes well. serve hot.

* the only change i would make would be to pre-fry the chicken, coating it with a bit of the egg+flour mixture...so that it has the 'crunch' thing going on, you know? in this particular recipe, while it's very tasty, i didn't quite like the way the chicken turned out.

thank you so much, kungpaochickenrecipe.org for the recipe, i'll definitely try each and every other kung pao recipe in your blog.

OCD much? :-p

tata everyone and enjoy the looooooong weekend!!



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