Kung Pao Chicken

I order Kung Pao Chicken almost every time I eat at a Chinese restaurant, but I've never made it at home. Recently, Pam at For the Love of Cooking posted a recipe for Kung Pao Chicken that looked easy and delicious - so I decided I should give it a try at home.

The Kung Pao Chicken at Pei Wei has carrots and pea pods it in, so I changed Pam's recipe to include them and make it a one dish meal. Also, instead of serving it over rice (which I was out of - who runs out of rice?) I served it over ramen noodles.

The chicken was a big hit. Thanks Pam for sharing it! I'll definitely be making it again. I changed it just a bit to accommodate my families' tastes. Here's my version:

Kung Pao Chicken
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into bite sized chunks
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
6 green onions, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 1/2 cup pea pods, steamed until tender

Combine chicken and cornstarch in a Ziploc bag and toss until evenly coated. Combine the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl and set aside for later. Heat a large skillet or wok with sesame oil over medium high heat. Once the pan is smoking hot add the chicken and stir fry for 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper and green onions (leaving a few for garnishing) to the pan and stir fry for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar mixture to the pan along with the cooked chicken, peanuts, carrots, and pea pods. Cook for a few minutes until sauce thickens up a bit and carrots are tender. Serve over rice or noodles and top with remaining green onions.