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Scott Rosenberg's Kung Pao Chicken with Peanuts recipe
My adaptation of Nicholas Zhou's version
Ingredients
1 lb. skinned, boned dark meat chicken (thighs work best)
MARINADE for chicken:
SEASONINGS:
SAUCE:
7 TBLS peanut oil
Directions
Dice the chicken into half-inch cubes. Mix the chicken pieces with the marinade, stir, and set aside for 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
Chop your peppers, ginger, garlic and scallions. Mix your sauce.
Heat the wok, and add 5 TBLS peanut oil. When oil is just smoking, add the raw peanuts and fry, tossing, for 2 minutes or so. As the nuts begin to brown, remove them with a slotted spoon or strainer, letting the excess oil drip back into the wok, and set them aside.
Let the oil heat again, then add the marinade-coated chicken. Stir fry on medium high for about 2 minutes until the chicken has browned and almost cooked through. Remove all the meat with slotted spoon, letting the excess oil drip back, and set aside on a brown paper bag.
Now pour off all the oil from the wok and clean it (carefully!) with a paper towel if it's got a lot of residue in it.
Add 2 TBLS peanut oil and heat on medium high. Add the peppers, and stir them until they begin to turn black -- 30-60 seconds depending on how hot your stove is. Add the garlic and ginger and flip them a few times, 10-15 seconds. Add the scallions and flip them a few times, 10-15 seconds.
Now return the chicken and the peanuts to the wok. Give the sauce a stir and add it. Stir fry vigorously till the sauce has thickened -- 1-2 minutes at most. Enjoy.
Notes on ingredients
*You could use any chicken meat you want. My experience is that the dark meat gives you a richer, more flavorful dish.
*You get the best results using the raw peanuts sold in Asian markets. If you can't get them or wish to save time, you can just use dry roasted peanuts -- then skip the step of frying the nuts and toss them in during the final stir fry. The dish will be fine as long as you take care that the peanuts are in the wok long enough to heat up; but the fresh-cooked peanuts are crunchier and more delicious.
*You can substitute the more common light soy sauce for the dark soy sauce. If you do, you might throw in a little more sugar -- the dark soy is sweetened. Similarly, if you don't have Chinese black vinegar, any rice vinegar will do. Peanut oil is the best oil for Chinese dishes, but you could use canola or safflower if you have to. Corn oil really leaves you with a strong corn flavor that just won't do.
*If you like your dish spicier, leave the chili pepper seeds in; remove them if you prefer a milder version. |
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