Kung Pao Chi Ding


Ingredients:

2 (~1 lb)	Chicken breasts
1.5 Tbsp	Corn starch
4 Tbsp		Soy sauce
2 Tbsp		Chicken stock (or water)
1.5 Tbsp	Dry sherry (or Chinese rice cooking wine)
2 Tsp		Brown sugar
2 Tsp		Vinegar
1/4 Cup		Peanut oil
1/2 Tsp		Dried red pepper flakes (for whole peppers, see 'Comments')
8		Green onion bottoms (3" - 6" long)
1 Tbsp		Fresh ginger slivers
1/3 Cup		Dry-roasted peanuts (unsalted)


Directions:

Chop chicken into 1/4" - 1/2" cubes, blend in corn starch and 2 Tbsp soy
sauce. Let stand while doing remaining preparations.

Mix remaining 2 Tbsp soy sauce, sherry, sugar, vinegar and chicken stock. Set
aside.

Chop onion bottoms (if you have whole green onions, you can make Mongolian
Beef the day before and use the tops) into short segments (1/2" at the head,
where they are light green, 1/4" or less at the base, where they are white -
for best results, keep bases and heads separate). Chop ginger into thin
slivers (about 1 mm square, and 1/2" long).

Heat 1 Tbsp peanut oil in wok at 375 degrees. When hot, add peanuts: stir for
1 minute. Add red pepper flakes, stir 10 seconds.

Add remaining oil and chicken mix, stir for 1 minute. (If you like, you can
wash out the bowl that contained the chicken mix with about 1/4 cup of water,
and add this around the edges of the material in the wok. It will evaporate
away, and I think it helps steam the chicken, making it more tender.)

Add ginger, stir for 1 minute. Add onion bases, stir 30 seconds. Add onion
heads (if kept separate), stir for 30 seconds. Add sherry mix, stir 1 minute,
or until sauce thickens. (If you like, you can wash out the bowl that
contained the sherry mix with 1-2 Tbsp of water, and add this to the mix.)

Serve *immediately*.


Comments

If done right, this recipe produces chicken that will quite literally fall to
pieces if you press chunks up against the roof of your mouth.

I use a West Bend electric wok, which has good temperature control, and the
times are all based on that. A classical wok could be used, but you may need
to adjust the times.

Keep stirring the mixture as constantly as you can - the more it's stirred,
the better it will be.

If you have problems getting the sauce to an optimal consistency, mix another
Tbsp of corn starch in 2 Tbsp *cold* water (stir till smooth consistency)
before starting; at the end, use as needed to thicken mixture.

You can replace the red pepper flakes with about 3 times the equivalent
[since i) you won't eat them, and ii) when they are whole you don't get as
much of the pepper acids out of them when they cook] in whole peppers.

This recipe can be safely approximately doubled by doubling materials, and
extending the main cooking stage by a minute or so, but to do more than that,
you have to do it in batches, otherwise with too much stuff in the wok the
food will not cook at the right rate.