Sunday, May 10, 2020

Kung Pao Chicken

This turned out really really well!


We used this NYT recipe with a few modifications:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015131-gong-bao-chicken-with-peanuts

We omitted the spring onion (which wasn't in season, despite being spring), and cubed 1 zuccini, plus a half can of baby corn for Nadia (since she loves baby corn).

So good!!  The only possible modification is that not every loves the whole sichuan peppercorns in there as flavor bursts; so I might try using 1.5 - 2 tsp in the oil but then removing them with a slotted spoon before cooking everything else in there.

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Update:  A few things to note:

- Marinate the chicken first while you prep everything else.

- Start toasting the peanuts in the tiny oven @ 250 or 300 or whatever.  (figure out what the right temp is so that 15-20 minutes later they're just finishing up at the time they should go in).

- I used 2 tsp sichuan peppercorns by themselves in the oil to start and removed (most) of them with a slotted spoon before adding the aromatics and quickly thereafter the chicken.  This worked great, but I wouldn't want to go more than 2.  I think 1-2 is perfect (1 might be on the less perceptible side).

- The thing to remember is that everything needs to get cooked in about 2-3 minutes, so cube the chicken the right size so this can happen.  If you've got other things like shrimp, add them after 1 minute.  Ditto with vegetables you don't want to overcook.

- You might-could get away with less sugar.  We accidentally added the sugar to the marinade instead of the sauce this last time and it actually came out fine but it meant there was nothing sweet to balance the vinegar in the sauce, but I kind of liked the extra-vinegary sauce.  So might want to try halving the sugar in the future to see what it's like.

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