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Recipe: Kung pao chicken
It's kind of embarrassing to admit this, but I love kung pao chicken. It's a stereotypical Chinese dish that has, over the years, become overly Americanized, which means that it's usually made far too sweet. But I find authentic kung pao chicken delicious, especially when it's made with a lot of "wok hay," which is hard to get at home.
I decided to try making it anyway, with my new wok, which, if I can go on a little tangent right now, was really frustrating me initially because I couldn't get it seasoned properly. It's a traditional round wok, so it needs a stand in order to have it not roll around, and it's made of a very thin cast iron, which is good for two reasons: It's not as heavy as regular cast iron, yet it works similarly. It's hard to distribute heat evenly on a home stove in a carbon steel wok (the sides are inevitably cooler than the bottom), but with cast iron, it's less of an issue.
When I first got it, I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed with steel wool, per the instructions, but no matter what I did, I could not seem to get whatever metal coating was on the pan. I scrubbed so much my arm was actually sore for a couple of days and I could barely move it! Finally I felt like I had done as good a job as I was ever going to, and seasoned it according to the included instructions (coat in and out with shortening -- though I used coconut oil -- then place in 300°F oven for 2 hours). It basically did nothing. The color didn't change, and when I rubbed it, metal shiny stuff still appeared on my rag.
I was on the verge of returning it when I looked through the Amazon reviews to see if anyone else had experienced similar issues, and a couple people had. One guy had also been at the end of his rope when he decided to go ahead and season it anyway -- only he did it at a higher temp than I had. So I figured, why not, got nothing to lose, and did the same thing. I rubbed it in and out with coconut oil, then baked the thing at 425°F for 25 min. Then I took it out and repeated the process 5-6 times (it was probably done at 4, but I figured why not), though I coated the outside probably half as much as the inside. This time, the wok took on a beautiful burnished brown color, and I could tell that the seasoning was taking. Once cooled, a finger rubbed over the surface no longer made metal come away! Very exciting.
The kung pao chicken was a smashing success! I really liked the recipe I chose, which claimed to have stuck to the original method as much as possible, and the new wok performed beautifully. I was reallllllllly happy with it. :D
Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 boneless & skinless chicken breast (or 3 boneless & skinless chicken drumsticks)
3 tablespoons roasted peanuts
8-12 dried red chilies (deseeded and cut into halves)
3 tablespoons cooking oil
5 slices peeled fresh ginger
2 gloves garlic (sliced diagonally)
1 stalk scallion (chopped)
For the marinade:
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon oil
For the sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon corn starch
Method:
1. Cut the chicken meat into small cubes and marinate with the marinade ingredients for 30 minutes.
2. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Heat up a wok with one tablespoon cooking oil and stir fry the marinated chicken until they're almost cooked through. Dish out and set aside.
4. Clean the wok and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cooking oil until it smokes.
5. Add in the ginger and garlic slices and do a quick stir before adding in the dried red chilies.
6. Stir fry the dried red chilies until aromatic and they smell spicy, then add the chicken meat back in.
7. Do a quick stir before adding in the roasted peanuts and continue to stir a few times.
8. Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chicken meat is nicely coated with the sauce. (The longer you keep cooking, the thicker the sauce becomes. Getting it too thick isn't attractive, so don't overcook.)
9. Add in the scallions and stir evenly.
10. Dish out and serve hot with steamed white rice.
My notes:
1) I used 3 chicken thighs, cut into small chunks, then doubled everything else.
2) It was a little too much starch; next time in the marinade I think I'd cut the starch possibly by as much as half.
3) The cooking wine flavor was also a little strong; I might cut that in half as well.
4) I did not deseed or slice the chili peppers. I just stir fried them whole, because I didn't want it to be too spicy.
5) I didn't use any scallions in the final dish, though I think they would have been a good addition.
I decided to try making it anyway, with my new wok, which, if I can go on a little tangent right now, was really frustrating me initially because I couldn't get it seasoned properly. It's a traditional round wok, so it needs a stand in order to have it not roll around, and it's made of a very thin cast iron, which is good for two reasons: It's not as heavy as regular cast iron, yet it works similarly. It's hard to distribute heat evenly on a home stove in a carbon steel wok (the sides are inevitably cooler than the bottom), but with cast iron, it's less of an issue.
When I first got it, I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed with steel wool, per the instructions, but no matter what I did, I could not seem to get whatever metal coating was on the pan. I scrubbed so much my arm was actually sore for a couple of days and I could barely move it! Finally I felt like I had done as good a job as I was ever going to, and seasoned it according to the included instructions (coat in and out with shortening -- though I used coconut oil -- then place in 300°F oven for 2 hours). It basically did nothing. The color didn't change, and when I rubbed it, metal shiny stuff still appeared on my rag.
I was on the verge of returning it when I looked through the Amazon reviews to see if anyone else had experienced similar issues, and a couple people had. One guy had also been at the end of his rope when he decided to go ahead and season it anyway -- only he did it at a higher temp than I had. So I figured, why not, got nothing to lose, and did the same thing. I rubbed it in and out with coconut oil, then baked the thing at 425°F for 25 min. Then I took it out and repeated the process 5-6 times (it was probably done at 4, but I figured why not), though I coated the outside probably half as much as the inside. This time, the wok took on a beautiful burnished brown color, and I could tell that the seasoning was taking. Once cooled, a finger rubbed over the surface no longer made metal come away! Very exciting.
The kung pao chicken was a smashing success! I really liked the recipe I chose, which claimed to have stuck to the original method as much as possible, and the new wok performed beautifully. I was reallllllllly happy with it. :D
Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 boneless & skinless chicken breast (or 3 boneless & skinless chicken drumsticks)
3 tablespoons roasted peanuts
8-12 dried red chilies (deseeded and cut into halves)
3 tablespoons cooking oil
5 slices peeled fresh ginger
2 gloves garlic (sliced diagonally)
1 stalk scallion (chopped)
For the marinade:
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon oil
For the sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon corn starch
Method:
1. Cut the chicken meat into small cubes and marinate with the marinade ingredients for 30 minutes.
2. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Heat up a wok with one tablespoon cooking oil and stir fry the marinated chicken until they're almost cooked through. Dish out and set aside.
4. Clean the wok and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cooking oil until it smokes.
5. Add in the ginger and garlic slices and do a quick stir before adding in the dried red chilies.
6. Stir fry the dried red chilies until aromatic and they smell spicy, then add the chicken meat back in.
7. Do a quick stir before adding in the roasted peanuts and continue to stir a few times.
8. Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chicken meat is nicely coated with the sauce. (The longer you keep cooking, the thicker the sauce becomes. Getting it too thick isn't attractive, so don't overcook.)
9. Add in the scallions and stir evenly.
10. Dish out and serve hot with steamed white rice.
My notes:
1) I used 3 chicken thighs, cut into small chunks, then doubled everything else.
2) It was a little too much starch; next time in the marinade I think I'd cut the starch possibly by as much as half.
3) The cooking wine flavor was also a little strong; I might cut that in half as well.
4) I did not deseed or slice the chili peppers. I just stir fried them whole, because I didn't want it to be too spicy.
5) I didn't use any scallions in the final dish, though I think they would have been a good addition.