Kung Pao Chicken

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• 1 1/2 lb. boneless & skinless chicken thighs, or chicken breast cut into 1” cubes
• 1 TBSP cornstarch
• 1 ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
• 1 TBSP Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 1 TBSP Chinese black or rice vinegar
• 1 TBSP granulated sugar
• 1 TBSP sambal oelek or chile-garlic paste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For stir-frying

• 3 TBSP neutral cooking oil (vegetable, divided)
• 2 medium bell peppers, large dice
• 2 medium celery stalks, thinly sliced on a slight diagonal
• 2 medium stalks scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 TBSP peeled and minced fresh ginger (1” piece)
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, or cashew nuts
• Steamed rice for serving (optional)

Marinate the chicken. Place chicken into a medium bowl. Place the tamari, wine or sherry, cornstarch, sesame oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk until cornstarch is dissolved. Drizzle 2 TBSP of mixture over the chicken and toss to combine. Set chicken aside.Toast the nuts

Mix the sauce. Add vinegar, sugar, and sambal to the remaining marinade and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Stir-fry the vegetables and aromatics. Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium heat until very hot. Drizzle in 1 TBSP oil then add bell peppers, celery and season with salt. Stir fry with a metal spatula unti crisp-tender and browned in sports (about 4 minutes). Add garlic, ginger and stir fry until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Transfer to a plate

Stir-fry chicken. Drizzle remaining 2 TBSP of oil into the pan. Add chicken and spread into an even layer. Let cook undisturbed until golden brown and seared on the bottom (3-4 minutes) Stir-fry until just cooked through (2-3 minutes more)

Return the vegetable to the pan and stir-fry with the sauce. Add the reserved vegetables and peanuts to the pan. Re-whisk the reserved sauce to dissolve the cornstarch. Pour into the pan and stir-fry until the sauce thickens, is glossy and evenly coats everything in the pan (about 1 minute more), Sprinkle with scallions and serve immediately with rice.

• Serves 4. (Prep time 30 min, cook time 20 min)

(Bert, 2023)