Kung Pao Noodles
Prep time 18 mins
Cook time 12 mins
Total time30 mins
A flavorful authentic recipe for Kung Pao Chicken ( or Cauilflower) with Noodles
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
1 lb chicken (or sub roasted cauliflower, see notes below)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoon corn starch
1-3 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying - optional, see notes.
one red bell pepper - or handful dry red Chinese chilies (see notes)
Kung Pao Sauce:
1 ½ tablespoons chopped ginger
1 ½ tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar (black vinegar if you have it, or use rice or white)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon garlic chili paste (Sambal chili paste)
Garnish: roasted peanuts, green onion (sliced at a diagonal)
Cooked noodles (2-3 servings), rice noodle or rice
Instructions
If making noodles or rice, start it cooking on the stove.
Cut chicken into ¾ inch cubes and place in a bowl. Add the salt, pepper, sugar and cornstarch to the chicken and toss.
(Alternately -- if using cauliflower, roast cauliflower florets in a 450 F oven for 25-30 minutes, with olive oil, salt and pepper)
Chop ginger, garlic and thinly slice red bell pepper into thin strips.
Measure all the condiments and place in a small bowl (water, soy, fish sauce, oyster, vinegar, sugar and garlic chili paste) and give a quick stir.
Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat, and when its hot, brown the chicken, turning, tossing and cooking through about 5 minutes. (I use a metal mesh splatter guard to prevent oil from going every where.)
Turn heat off and place crispy chicken on a plate lined with paper towels, blot.
Wipe out wok, add 1 tablespoon oil and heat over medium heat.
Add the red bell pepper and sear over medium heat until tender and just slightly charred in places, about 3-4 minutes. Make a well in the center of the bell peppers, add the ginger and garlic and sear (keeping them in the center), cooking and stirring 2 minutes until they are fragrant and golden. You may need to add a few more drops of oil.
Add the small bowl of mixed sauces to the wok and bring to a simmer, lower heat, then place the cooked chicken (or roasted cauliflower) back into the sauce and toss well, coating it and heating it back up. Serve over rice, noodles, or add the cooked noodles directly into the wok and sear them for a minute or two. Serve immediately.
Garnish with roasted peanuts and sliced scallions.
Notes: If subbing with crispy tofu, prepare it in the same way as the chicken, blot, cut into small cubes, coat with salt, pepper, sugar and cornstarch (you may want to use a little more cornstarch) , and fry in the wok until crispy. Then set aside. (Alternatively, you could use "baked tofu" and not fry it, adding it at the end into to the sauce.)
*For a lighter version, use roasted cauliflower instead of chicken and add it to the wok with the sauce (at the very end). You, of course, can also add other cooked veggies, tossing with the flavorful sauce. You can sub another sweetener for the sugar, like agave, maple or honey, but flavors won't be balanced if you leave it out altogether.
*If you use the whole head of cauliflower, you may want to increase the Kung Pao sauce by half so make 1 ½ times the recipe).
*Traditional Kung Pao also includes a handful of red, dried Chinese chilies (Thai red chilies are too spicy) . I usually toss these in at the end with the garlic and ginger, but in this recipe you don't really don't need to because of the chili garlic paste. If you do choose to use the dried chilies, add them in right after the the ginger and garlic, and decrease the garlic chili sauce in the recipe.
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoon corn starch
1-3 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying - optional, see notes.
one red bell pepper - or handful dry red Chinese chilies (see notes)
Kung Pao Sauce:
1 ½ tablespoons chopped ginger
1 ½ tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar (black vinegar if you have it, or use rice or white)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon garlic chili paste (Sambal chili paste)
Garnish: roasted peanuts, green onion (sliced at a diagonal)
Cooked noodles (2-3 servings), rice noodle or rice
Instructions
If making noodles or rice, start it cooking on the stove.
Cut chicken into ¾ inch cubes and place in a bowl. Add the salt, pepper, sugar and cornstarch to the chicken and toss.
(Alternately -- if using cauliflower, roast cauliflower florets in a 450 F oven for 25-30 minutes, with olive oil, salt and pepper)
Chop ginger, garlic and thinly slice red bell pepper into thin strips.
Measure all the condiments and place in a small bowl (water, soy, fish sauce, oyster, vinegar, sugar and garlic chili paste) and give a quick stir.
Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat, and when its hot, brown the chicken, turning, tossing and cooking through about 5 minutes. (I use a metal mesh splatter guard to prevent oil from going every where.)
Turn heat off and place crispy chicken on a plate lined with paper towels, blot.
Wipe out wok, add 1 tablespoon oil and heat over medium heat.
Add the red bell pepper and sear over medium heat until tender and just slightly charred in places, about 3-4 minutes. Make a well in the center of the bell peppers, add the ginger and garlic and sear (keeping them in the center), cooking and stirring 2 minutes until they are fragrant and golden. You may need to add a few more drops of oil.
Add the small bowl of mixed sauces to the wok and bring to a simmer, lower heat, then place the cooked chicken (or roasted cauliflower) back into the sauce and toss well, coating it and heating it back up. Serve over rice, noodles, or add the cooked noodles directly into the wok and sear them for a minute or two. Serve immediately.
Garnish with roasted peanuts and sliced scallions.
Notes: If subbing with crispy tofu, prepare it in the same way as the chicken, blot, cut into small cubes, coat with salt, pepper, sugar and cornstarch (you may want to use a little more cornstarch) , and fry in the wok until crispy. Then set aside. (Alternatively, you could use "baked tofu" and not fry it, adding it at the end into to the sauce.)
*For a lighter version, use roasted cauliflower instead of chicken and add it to the wok with the sauce (at the very end). You, of course, can also add other cooked veggies, tossing with the flavorful sauce. You can sub another sweetener for the sugar, like agave, maple or honey, but flavors won't be balanced if you leave it out altogether.
*If you use the whole head of cauliflower, you may want to increase the Kung Pao sauce by half so make 1 ½ times the recipe).
*Traditional Kung Pao also includes a handful of red, dried Chinese chilies (Thai red chilies are too spicy) . I usually toss these in at the end with the garlic and ginger, but in this recipe you don't really don't need to because of the chili garlic paste. If you do choose to use the dried chilies, add them in right after the the ginger and garlic, and decrease the garlic chili sauce in the recipe.
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