Take Out Fake Out: Kung Pao Chicken

Here's another "take out fake out" recipe that is even better than the restaurant dish.

The original recipe calls for heating Japanese chili peppers (which we had to go to an international supermarket to find) in oil until they turned black. So I did. And Blue barked, Sambucca started sneezing and Brian had a strange coughing sneezing fit from the fumes, despite having the stove fan on turbo speed. AND, on top of all that, they didn't even give off that much heat! So, I pulled them from the oil and used a couple tablespoons of garlic chili sauce and it worked out great. I also threw in some extra vegetables. Finally, after reading the reviews on the original recipe, I doubled the sauce (original amounts are listed below) - that was a great call.

It would be great over rice, but we ate it as-is and it was filling and delicious.

Ingredients:

Marinade

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar, or substitute good-quality balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper
• 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 3 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced or grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons garlic chili sauce, or to taste
• Florets from 1 crown of broccoli, steamed until crisp tender
• 6 - 8 Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced length-wise, steamed until crisp tender
• 1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken: In a medium bowl, stir together the soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the chicken and stir gently to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.
2. Prepare the sauce: In another bowl, combine the black vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch, and cayenne pepper. Stir until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved and set aside.
3. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add the chicken and stir-fry until no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the scallion whites, garlic, ginger and garlic chili sauce and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Pour in the sauce, broccoli  and Brussels sprouts and mix to coat the other ingredients. Stir in the peanuts and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle the scallion greens on top, and serve.

Adapted from: Epicurious