Kung Pao Chicken

I got this recipe from Susanna Foo's Chinese Cuisine

I often used to make this Kung Pao dish when I was living in Nagano, and I I would eat it on top of  yakisoba. Its really good on a cold winter night!  Soba, or buckwheat noodles, are famous in Nagano, as it is a large farming and wheat producing area of Japan. I met a soba maker named Mr. Kashiwagi, who was a fantastic soba maker. I would also get my fair share of "old" soba noodles. A quick and dirty Japanese meal is to pan fry a bunch of the old soba noodles with vinegar and soy sauce and then have a seperate dish or sauce to go on top of them.

Ingredients
1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tablespoon gin or vodka (I prefer Kai Vodka)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon salt or 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 cup corn oil plus 2 tablespoons corn oil
1/3 cup raw blanched peanuts
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons peeled, julienned gingerroot
1/3 cup red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/2 cup small white button mushroom caps whole
3 scallions, white part only, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup Kung Pao Sauce


1. Place the chicken cubes in a bowl with the vodka or gin and mix well. Add the egg white and cornstarch, sprinkle with salt or soy sauce and mix well. Add 2 tablespoons of corn oil, to help the chicken pieces seperate when they are cooking.

2. Heat 1 cup of oil in a wok. Add the raw peanuts and cook for 7 minutes, or until a light golden color. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain.

3. Gradually add all of the marinated chicken to the oil. When the chicken turns white, about 2 minutes, turn off the heat. The chicken will be half cooked at this time. The chicken will have some specks on it from the peanut. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. The chicken can be cooked to this point up to 4 hours in advance. Cover tightly and refrigerate.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok. Add the garlic, gingerroot and bell pepper and cook over high heat for 2 minutes, or until the garlic turns light brown.

5. Add mushroom and scallions. Stir in the Kung Pao Sauce. When it comes to a boil, add the chicken and stir to coat with the sauce. Cook for another 5 minutes until the flavors are well blended and developed.
Stir in the peanuts and serve!

I like serving it with either white rice or yaki soba.

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