KUNG PAO CHICKEN

This is my retake on Kung Pao Chicken because the first I made it I was not much experienced and I ended up adding cashew nuts because Mom loved them. Then I got lectured by someone about how cashew nuts are not Kung Pao which made me so furious that I met a Chinese living in Lahore to confirm.

FYI - KUNG PAO CHICKEN CAN BE MADE WITH ALMONDS, CASHEW NUTS AND BASICALLY ANY TYPE OF NUT. This is a Schezuan cuisine and the type of nuts does not have to do anything with the authenticity.

In Pakistan we don't know any other Pao than "beta zara ghr atay hovey aik pao dahi le ana." Kung Pao Chicken is literally one of my all time favorites.

INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN:

500 grams boneless, skinless chicken breast cut in 1/2 inch cubes

1 tablespoon red chili paste

pinch of salt and pepper

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoons baking powder (it tenderizes the chicken)

INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCE:

1 tablespoon of finely chopped ginger

6 garlic cloves finely chopped

10 dried red chilies cut in 1/2 inch pieces (you can skip or lessen them to adjust spice)

4 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons white vinegar

3/4 cup of chicken stock

1 tablespoon cornflour

4-5 green onions chopped

1/4 cup of salted peanuts (you can also add more or less)

Really easy and simple to make.

First we marinate the chicken by adding salt, pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce and baking powder to it.

Mix it and keep it aside.

Now we let the chicken marinade and we slice green onions and dried red chilies.

Now let's prepare the sauce by putting soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, chicken stock and cornflour.

Mix it well and keep it aside.

Now we heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok on high heat and fry the chicken.

After the chicken is cooked take it out separately.

Now we heat a another tablespoon of oil in the same wok and stir fry garlic, ginger and dry red chilies for 1 minute.

Give the sauce a stir in a bowl and add it to the wok. Turn up the heat to medium.

As soon as the sauce starts boiling stir the dry ingredients and mix them together.

Now we add chicken and stir it in the sauce for a minute.

Time to add the peanuts and give them a good stir for 30 seconds.

Quickly add the green onions and stir for another minute and TADA. Kung Pao Chicken is ready to serve.

KUNG PAO CHICKEN

EVERYONE !!!

Chinese Lemon Chicken

My love for Chinese cuisine is directly proportional to your love for all the shallow things in the world.

The hardest thing is to make a Chinese dish presentable because sometimes sprinkling sesame seeds doesn't help as well.

This was my first attempt at decorating today's recipe (which I made yesterday) and that recipe also happens to be called Chinese Lemon Chicken. (I'm really running out of my creative funny writing ability).

 Let's start making this simple and quick yet crispy and delicious appetizer.

Ingredients:

500 grams boneless chicken breast cut in long strips

2 lemon's zest (1 for the chicken marinade and 1 for the sauce)

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoon soy sauce (2 for the chicken marinade and 1 for the sauce)

1 tablespoon sesame seed oil

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 egg

Corn flour for coating chicken and thickening of sauce

Salt per taste

You can eat it with or without steamed white rice or boiled noodle so prepare that before you make the lemon chicken

First and foremost we have to marinade the chicken by adding 1 lemon's zest, some salt, soy sauce, one egg and vinegar to the chicken. Mix it well and leave the chicken to marinate for 30 minutes.

Now we prepare the breading station by putting cornflour in a deep plate and adding some salt to it. Mix it properly.

Now cover every chicken strip in cornflour and place it separately on a tray covered with baking sheet. I DID NOT HAVE THE BAKING SHEET so my chicken strips kept sticking on the stray. Listen to me and get a baking sheet.

Take out a non stick frying and fill it up with some vegetable oil around half an inch.

Warm up the oil on medium heat and then lower it. Start frying the chicken strips in batches for 4-6 minutes.

When the chicken is fried place it on a paper toweled plate.

In a separate pan take out 1 lemon's zest and add lemon juice, soy sauce, some salt, chicken stock and brown sugar.

Start cooking it on low heat and mix everything till the sugar dissolves.

Mix a teaspoon of cornflour with cold water and add it to the sauce. This will thicken up the sauce quickly.

The sauce is read now.

Add the fried chicken strips to the sauce and coat them properly.

Plate out the coated strips and pour the rest of the sauce on them.

Sprinkle some sesame seeds on it along with some spring onions.

Top them on small bowl of rice/egg noodles.

Ladies and gentlemen 慢慢吃 which also means 'have a nice meal' as I present to you Chinese Lemon Chicken.

Kung Pao Spaghetti

I previously made Kung Pao Chicken with fried rice and in the recipe I replaced peanuts with cashews but I only did it because I made it and I can do whatever I want to my recipes because mAh lyF, mAh rUlx.

I heard from someone that somewhere in California, USA there is a restaurant named California Pizza Kitchen which serves Kung Pao Spaghetti. So, I said HEY! let's try that out and I did some research and finally found the perfect HALAL ingredients for this delicious thing.

Ingredients:

450 grams of spaghetti or pasta of your choice

3 chicken breasts cut into strips

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of garlic paste (one for the chicken and one for the gravy)

2/3 cup soy sauce

1 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons of red grapes vinegar

2 tablespoons red chili paste
(if you cannot find it in the market I will tell you how to make it in this recipe)

1/4 cup of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of cornflour

2 spring onions finely chopped

First of all let me teach ya'll how to make red chili paste if you cannot find it in the market.

Just take approximately 50 dried long red chilies, remove there stems and soak them in hot water for 30 minutes.

Drain them and if seeds come out then drain them as well.

Now blend the soaked red chilies with 4 tablespoons of white vinegar and stop when you it becomes a red paste.

Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a non stick pan and on low heat stir that paste in that oil, sprinkle some salt and a teaspoon of garlic paste. Mix it all together and take off heat.

Store in a jar.

That's it. Okay?

BEWARE! this red chili paste will burn the world down.

Now let's get down .... to business.

Cook the spaghetti or the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. I am using whole wheat linguine. I am not dieting, I exercise and eat what I want.

Put some salt and black pepper on the chicken according to your ungrateful taste-buds. Add some garlic paste as well. Mix it well and keep it aside.

Now, we prepare the gravy.

Put 2 tablespoons of cornflour in a bowl and whisk it with chicken stock. Then add garlic paste, chili paste, soy sauce, red grapes vinegar and brown sugar.

Now we cook.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a non stick pan and fry the chicken until it's completely cooked.

Add the gravy mixture in the chicken and cook it for 2-4 minutes until your desired thickness is achieved.

Now if the gravy is thick enough as per your liking add the spaghetti or pasta whatever the hell have you decided along the peanuts and spring onions.

Mix it well and your Kung Pao Spaghetti is ready to be served HOT.

Ladies and gentlemen, do whatever you want but you're not gonna get to taste this. 

KUNG PAO SPAGHETTI !!!