April 30, 2020July 23, 2020

This recipe is Project CHEF’s version of a classic Chinese dish, Kung Pao Chicken. Traditionally, peanuts play a main role. In this recipe though, peanuts are optional so that even those that are allergic to peanuts can enjoy this dish. In food and cooking, balance is a word that comes up often. It is important to have a balanced meal which means consuming the right proportions of food groups to give your body all the nutrients it needs to grow & maintain good health. In this recipe, let’s focus on balanced flavours. Think about lemonade, if it’s just lemon juice it would be likely be too sour to drink. However, when sugar is added for sweetness the result is a balanced beverage. Many Asian dishes are often created by juggling salty, sweet, sour and spicy flavours to create a balanced taste. This recipe is a good example.

Yield: 4 – 5 servings
Preparation Time: About 20 minutes
Cooking Time: About 15 minutes

Digging around

List the ingredients that are sweet, salty, sour and spicy in this recipe?
List other ingredients that would be considered as sweet, salty, sour and spicy.
What does it mean to have balanced flavours?

INGREDIENT LIST

¾ cup (175mL) chicken or vegetable stock
2 Tbsp (30mL) soy sauce
1 Tbsp (15mL) balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp (15mL) cornstarch then ¼ cup (50mL)
2 tsp (10mL) sesame oil
1 ½ tsp (7mL) sugar
2 or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
¾ tsp (3mL) salt and several grinds of freshly cracked pepper
3 Tbsp (45mL) vegetable oil, then 1 Tbsp (15mL) oil
1 small Thai chili pepper, split lengthwise, seeds removed (or ½ jalapeno pepper, diced)
1 Tbsp. (15mL) grated fresh ginger, about a 5 cm piece of ginger
4 green onions, thinly sliced, whites and greens kept separately
1 red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 stalks of celery, cut into1 cm thick slices
¼ cup (50mL) peanuts (optional)

EQUIPMENT LIST

Tray or plate
Liquid measuring cup
Measuring cups and spoons
Whisk or fork
Small sharp knife
Cutting board
Large bowl
Spoon
Microplane or grater
3 small bowls
Large frying pan, with lid (or tin foil to cover)
Tongs

METHOD

1. Measure the chicken stock with a liquid measuring cup. Add the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, sesame oil and sugar. Whisk together and put aside for now.

2. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the salt and pepper and toss with the chicken. Add the ¼ cup (50mL) cornstarch and toss with the chicken. Wash the cutting board and knife in warm soapy water.

3. Cut the chili pepper in ½ and scrape out the seeds. Compost the seeds, unless you like your food spicy. Put in a small bowl. Wash the knife, cutting board and your hands. Do not rub your eyes or they will sting from the chili peppers.

4. Using a spoon, scrape the skin from the fresh ginger. Grate the ginger using a micro-plane or the fine holes on a grater. Measure and add to the chilies.

5. Slice the green onions and add the white slices to the chili mixture and place the green slices in another small bowl.

6. Cut the red pepper in ½ and remove the seeds and white pith. Compost these. Cut the red pepper into bite-sized pieces. Place in a small bowl.

7. Cut the celery into 1 cm slices and add to the red pepper.

8. Place large frying pan on the stovetop. Turn on the heat to medium-high and let the pan heat up for a minute. Add 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan and let heat up. Add the chicken, first shaking off the extra cornstarch. Cook for about 2 minutes a side, until it is lightly browned on both sides. Use tongs to turn over the chicken.

9. Add the other 1 Tbsp (15mL) oil to the pan. Add the chilies, the ginger and the whites of the green onions and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

10. Add the red pepper and the celery and cook, stirring until they are softened, about 2 minutes.

11. Give the broth mixture a quick whisk then add it to the pan, stirring it into the chicken and vegetables. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen up any flavourful bits. The sauce will thicken. Remove a piece of chicken and cut into it. If it is pink, turn the heat down, cover the pan and cook for a few minutes more.

12. Remove the chili pepper halves. Serve right away, sprinkled with green onion slices and peanuts. This is very nice served over rice.

SKILLS

STEP-BY-STEP – KUNG PAO CHICKEN!

STEP 1
Gather your ingredients. Here we are substituting rice wine vinegar for balsamic vinegar. Vinegar is the key ingredient that adds a sour flavour to this dish.

STEP 2
Combine the wet ingredients: Chicken stock, soy sauce (hint: Salty flavour) and sesame oil in a measuring cup.

STEP 3
Add sugar (hint: Sweet flavour) and 1Tbsp of cornstarch into the measuring cup.

STEP 4
Whisk using a fork until the cornstarch has mixed thoroughly.

STEP 5
Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes, then transfer them into a small bowl. Immediately wash and sanitize your cutting board, knife, and, of course, your hands!

STEP 6
Add salt & pepper and 1/4 cup of cornstarch into the chicken. Mix well using a spoon.

STEP 7
This is the mighty Thai chilli pepper. Small but powerful. It has a spiciness level of up to 100,000 under the Scoville Scale. The hottest pepper can go all the way up to 2,200,000 (2.2 million) on the Scoville Scale. Do you know which chilli pepper that is?

STEP 8
Cut the chilli pepper in half lengthwise. Remember not to touch anything else when you are handling chilli peppers, especially your face. It can really sting your eyes.

STEP 9
This exposes the seeds, so yes, chilli pepper is a fruit. The seeds are the spiciest part of the chilli pepper.

STEP 10
Use the knife or spoon to scrape the seeds out. Add the pepper to a small bowl. Make sure there are no seeds and you won’t find it too spicy. Keep the seeds in if you love spicy food. Remember to consult with everyone eating, to make sure everyone is happy with the spice level of your dish.

STEP 11
Grate the ginger into the bowl with the chilli pepper. (Notice we left some of the seeds in).

STEP 12
Cut the green onions. The root end can be composted or use it to grow more onions. The white bits in the middle of this picture will get added to the chili and ginger bowl. The bright green bits will be garnish for later, so put them aside in a new bowl.

STEP 13
Cut the red bell pepper in half. These peppers have a 0 rating in the Scoville Scale, making it a nice sweet pepper with zero spiciness. Although edible, we don’t eat these seeds so you can compost them.

STEP 14
It’s Pepper CPR time! (video coming soon). Cut the pepper into bite-sized cubes.

STEP 15
This is your Mise en Place

STEP 16
Heat a big pan or wok on a medium-high heat and add the oil. Once the pan and oil are hot add the chicken. Shake off the excess corn starch and you can add them gently into the pan using a pair of tongs.

STEP 17
Use the tongs to flip the chicken once the first side is looking golden brown. About 2 minute a side.

STEP 18
Add the ginger, chili and green onion mix. Stir-fry for a minute or so.

STEP 19
Add the rest of the veggies.

STEP 20
Whisk the sauce mixture once more. Break up the corn starch that’s pooled up at the bottom, then add the mixture into the pan. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cut one of the chicken pieces in half to check for doneness. It should be white all the way through with no pink bits.