I know some of us have some good recipes to share. I’ll start this off with some KUNG PAO CHICKEN!!!
To tenderize the meat:
1/2 tsp egg white
2 tsp cornstarch
1 pinch salt
1 tsp Chinese cooking wine (or dry sherry)
Boneless chicken breasts or thighs (11 to 12 ounces total)
3 garlic cloves
An equivalent amount of ginger
5 spring onions, white parts only (or use white onion)
A handful of dried chiles (about 10)
1 tsp whole Sichuan pepper (if you can find it)
3 ounces (75 grams) roasted peanuts
Green and Red pepper
1/2 Cup vegetable or grape seed oil
FOR THE SAUCE:
1 tblsp sugar
¾ tsp potato starch or cornstarch
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tblsp Chinkiang vinegar (or use balsamic vinegar)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tblsp chicken stock or water
Cut chicken as evenly as possible into half-inch strips, then cut strips into small cubes. Place in a small bowl. Add marinade ingredients to bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Peel and thinly slice garlic and ginger. Chop green and red pepper into pieces roughly the same size as the chicken. Chop spring onions into chunks as long as their diameter (to match the chicken cubes). Snip chiles in half or into sections, discarding their seeds.
In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients.
Heat a seasoned wok over a high flame. Add oil, dip half of the meat into the oil and move around until half-cooked, around 2 minutes; remove with slotted spoon and drain from oil. Repeat for the other half.
Drain off all but 2 tbsp of oil in heated wok, add chilies, peppercorn, ginger, garlic, green and red pepper, and spring onions and continue to stir-fry until they are fragrant. Add the chicken back to the wok.
Give sauce a stir and add to wok, continuing to stir and toss. As soon as the sauce has become thick and shiny, add the peanuts, stir them in and serve.
