Quick and Easy Kung Pao Chicken

Ok, before we start I have to confess that I am not an expert on kung pao chicken.  I know you must be shocked that the same girl who brought you the oh so deftly named Orange Almond “Asian” Salad could be anything less than an expert on the nuances of sichuan cuisine, but I felt I had to say it.  Regardless of its authenticity, this easy kung pao chicken meets all of my recipe requirements-it’s quick, it’s easy, it’s made with real ingredients, and with a side of steamed vegetables it makes a great dinner.

The biggest problem I had when I first started trying to recreate some of my favorite stir-fry based recipes at home was that I didn’t have a wok.  Consequently, my first stir-fries came out more like partially steamed vegetables, covered in oil, served over rice.  Erhm, not exactly appetizing.  And not the best way to get your family to eat more vegetables…unless they happen to be Macedonian, then this might actually be a good way to go.  I distinctly remember sitting down to a beautiful curry prepared by my mother-in-law (who is more than adventurous in the kitchen) a few years ago.  After the first bite, someone commented, “I don’t think this is done, these vegetables are still alive!”  I digress…

Ok, right, no wok.  Here’s what you need to do.  First, use a flat, wide frying pan (rather than a pan with straight sides), which will allow the steam to escape.  Second, make sure you don’t crowd the pan!  This means that if you have four chicken breasts and only one small frying pan, you’re going to have to work in batches.  Finally, ease up on the stirring.  All that flipping, flopping, stirring, and whirring you see when you watch someone whip up a delicious stir-fry in a wok?  Forget about it!  Instead, after you add the meat (or vegetables) to the pan, allow it to brown completely before flipping it over.  This allows for nicely browned meat that doesn’t stick to the pan.

For this particular recipe, I tried to use only ingredients that I usually have on hand or could easily find at my local grocery store.  (Again, probably did not contribute hugely to authenticity…but I promise it was still yummy!) This means that instead of shaoxing wine I used rakija (Macedonian brandy) and instead of black vinegar I used balsamic.  I did not, however, skimp on the peppers….we love peppers!  If you don’t have any peppers, I’m sure you could dial up the heat with red pepper flakes.  If you happen to have shaoxing wine or black vinegar, by all means use them.  But no sense in making a special trip for something you’ll only use once just for this recipe!

Lastly, this recipe is really meant to be served over rice.  With out it, it tastes a little salty.  So, if you plan on  going sans rice, cut back a little on the soy sauce.