Kung Pao Chicken

by Laura Donnelly — February 16, 2007

Our last healthy comfort-food dish of the week uses far less oil than the restaurant versions. This recipe may seem to have a lot of ingredients, but once you have all the pantry items like soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar, you can make all kinds of Asian-themed main courses. If you can’t find snow peas, or prefer more fiber, you can substitute broccoli florets for the snow peas. It’s a one-dish meal that needs only brown rice as an accompaniment.

Serves 6

2 Tablespoons dry sherry
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 and 1/2 lb. skinned, boned chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup chicken stock
3 Tablespoons peanut oil
5 small whole dried red chilies
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
6 scallions, sliced in 1-inch lengths
2 cups snow peas, trimmed

1. In large bowl combine 1 Tablespoon of sherry with cornstarch, sesame oil and a few grindings of black pepper. Add chicken, toss to coat, let sit out for 1/2 hour.

2. In small bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, remaining sherry and chicken stock. Set aside.

3. Heat wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, quickly fry peanuts and dried chilies until chilies are dark red. Remove and set aside.

4. Add garlic and ginger to oil in skillet. Stir quickly, then add chicken pieces, tossing and frying about 3 minutes, until chicken is opaque.

5. Add scallions and snow peas, and cook, tossing for one more minute. Stir in soy-sauce mixture and cook till cornstarch thickens it a bit, about 2 minutes. Add peanuts and chilies and serve at once.