Kertney's Kung POW! "Better than Buffet" Companion Piece.

I CAN'T EAT ENOUGH KUNG PAO!

I order this dish more than any human being should. I order it so often that I'll bet Taiwan 101 is sick of making it for me, so I'll do them a favor and attempt to recreate it. In my trial dishes, I realized that I had to get a little more authentic with my sauce- something always wasn't quite right. After some investigating I realized that I needed MORE Asian condiments. Chinese chefs must have a condiment pantry as long as The Great Wall!  If you want to get a little more fancy with your Chinese cuisine, pick up these next 3 KEY items at your Asian market. No, you won't find them at your run-of-the-mill grocery store: 

1)Dark Soy Sauce, 2)Rice Wine and 3) Black Vinegar.   

In my quest for the perfect sauce, I came across Martin Yan's book, "Martin Yan's China." In his book, one can find a handful of Chinese and Taiwanese staples. The ingredients I noticed THE MOST in Yan's recipes were the above condiments, including the one's from my previous blog, "Better than Buffet." The dark soy sauce, rice wine and black vinegar make the world of difference between preparing an at home, Chinese stir fry vs. a savory dish delivered from your favorite Asian restaurant. Of course Martin has his own version of Kung Pao, but, my rendition hits the spot in the Kertney household. Don't get me wrong, I would eat whatever that man put before me... but I would be hard pressed to see if he didn't ask for seconds of my Kung POW, first! 

Kertney's Kung POW! 

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts- butterflied, pounded flat and cut into bite sized chunks.  

2 tsp salt 

2 cloves of garlic- pressed

My youngest "stripping" the celery

1 tablespoon cornstarch 

2 tablespoons pre-seasoned vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts

1/2 can of water chestnuts, halved (freeze the other half) 

2 handfuls of your choice of MAIN veggie. Broccoli, green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas work the best. If you use green beans, you will have to steam or boil them, first- for 5 minutes, then shock them to preserve the color and so they remain crisp. 

1/2 small package of fresh mushrooms, halved

1/2 red bell pepper, cubed

1 celery stalk, stripped

3 scallions, chopped

Prepare and pound your chicken in between wax paper for a thin consistency. Roughly cut up your chicken into bite size pieces and add the cornstarch, salt and pressed garlic. Let that sit while you prepare "the sauce."

2 Tbsp Dark Soy

2 Tbsp Oyster Sauce

2 Tbsp Teriyaki sauce

1Tbsp Black Vinegar

1 Tbsp Rice Wine 

1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar

1 clove of garlic, sliced

2- 3 whole, dried, chile peppers (depends on how spicy you like it)

1 scallion, chopped

2 small pieces of fresh ginger- a sliver or two will be just fine

In a separate bowl mix:
2 Tbsp corn starch

1/2 Cup Chicken Stock 

HOLY CRAP THAT'S A LOT OF SAUCES FOR JUST ONE DISH!

This is a fast cooking process, so be prepared with all of your ingredients. Prep-work is essential with Asian cooking.

Preheat a wok or a deep skillet on high heat and add of 1tablespoon pre-seasoned oil. What is pre-seasoned oil? Check out my other blog. Add your chicken pieces and 1 chile pepper and fry until golden, then remove from the pan. Next, turn your heat down to medium high and add 1 tablespoon of oil, chestnuts and mushrooms and fry for 3 minutes. Next, add the celery strips, the remaining scallions, peanuts, and reintroduce your chicken. Add "the sauce" and get it well incorporated with the other ingredients.  Next add the stock/cornstarch mix and let cook for a minute or two. The sauce should be deep brown and thickening. Not thick enough? Add more cornstarch to less broth and add to the wok.  The LAST ingredients should be the beans, red peppers and garlic slices. You want crunch... not mush, so always add these at the end. The same goes for broccoli or any other main veggie. Cook them LAST and they will stay crisp. You only need to cook them for a minute or two. This whole process shouldn't last more than 10 minutes, tops!

Serve immediately over a nice bed of steamed rice and enjoy!  Check out my page about how to make white rice without any measuring!