Cuckoo for Kung Pao

It was a weeknight, and the only Asian-style take-out available was what we refer to as 'That Bad Chinese Place' up the road. Luckily, there were thawed chicken breasts in the fridge, and a bag full of green beans, so I made our own, Really Killer Chinese Take-In.


The beans were simply blanched, then doused with a bit of salt, sesame oil, and toasted black sesame.

The Kung Pao Chicken recipe comes courtesy PanNan, from Recipezaar. With 35 glowing reviews, I was pretty certain that this would turn out just fine.


The only thing that let me down was the fact that I opted to not steam some rice to go along with it- the sauce was 'lick-your-plate good'. It just wasn't the same trying to sop up every last bit with the remaining green beans.

The recipe is reprinted from PanNan's, with a couple of my own substitutions.

Kung Pao Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons light sesame oil
3 Tablespoons green onions, chopped with tops
2 Tablespoons garlic-chili paste
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
4 cups cooked rice, hot [Please note that this is NOT an option!]

3-4 servings

22 minutes 10 mins prep

Combine chicken and cornstarch in small bowl, tossing to coat.
Heat oil in large non-stick skillet or wok on medium heat.
Add chicken.
Stir fry 5- 7 minutes or until no longer pink in center.
Remove from heat.
Add onions and ginger to skillet.
Stir fry 15 seconds.
Remove from heat.
Combine vinegar, soy sauce, chili-garlic paste, and sugar in small bowl.
Stir well.
Add to skillet.
Return chicken to skillet.
Stir until chicken is well coated.
Stir in nuts.
Heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally.
Serve over hot rice. (Again, not an optional step!)