Kung Pao Chicken

Chinese take out at home
Looking to spice up your life?  Try this Chinese specialty.

After exploring China twice and eating real Chinese food for months, I could not live without it.  While I occasionally indulge in take out, I prefer to cook it myself and have tried several different recipes such as Sesame Chicken, Cashew Chicken, and Beef and Broccoli, but was always looking for a recipe for Kung Pao Chicken.  It was one of my favorites when I was in China because I loved the crunch of the peanuts and the spice except for when I accidentally chomped on one of the deadly peppercorns, sending my mouth into shock! This recipes includes the spice and peanuts without the danger of the peppercorns.  Serve with rice and eat with chopsticks!

Recipe

I doubled the marinade and the sauce on the original recipe.

Ingredients

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken, cut into chunks
Rice

Marinade
2 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

Sauce
2 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1-2 ounces hot chile paste (2 ounces is really spicy!)
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
4 teaspoons brown sugar
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup salted peanuts

1) Place chicken in a dish or bowl and add marinade ingredients.  Toss to coat.  Cover dish and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2) Put rice and water in rice cooker and start (or began making rice).

3) In a small bowl combine sauce ingredients.  Heat slowly until aromatic (only a few minutes).

4) Remove chicken from marinade and saute until meat is white and juices run clear.  Add chicken to sauce and let simmer until sauce thickens.

5) Serve over rice.