Kung Pao Chicken

Inspirational Quote of the Day:

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” -Dalai Lama

While searching for healthy chicken recipes I ran across Cooking Light’s version of Kung Pao Chicken. Boy was it spicy! This explains why George, on Seinfeld, sweat so much after he ate the Kung Pao Chicken. But I liked the flavor and it was so fast and easy. So I changed a couple of things here and there, and this is what I came up with.

What I like most about this recipe is that you can prepare all of your ingredients and then everything goes into the same pan in stages, as opposed to having to cook part of it and then take it out of the pan and then add it back in later. This is not really a big deal, but it does make this recipe a little more convenient because it uses less dishes than some of the other stir-fry recipes I have tried.

I will cut the ginger and crushed red pepper in half next time because it was still a little too spicy or us, (apparently we are lightweights when it comes to spice). If you like it spicier, by all means, go nuts!

Kung Pao Chicken                                                                                  Adapted from Cooking Light

2 tbsp dark sesame oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup water

3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tsp corn starch

1 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp bottled minced ginger

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 cup snow peas, trimmed

2 tbsp chopped dry roasted peanuts

Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high-high heat. Saute onions for 3 minutes, or until softened. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chicken and saute for another 3 minutes.

Whisk together the water, soy sauce, corn starch, brown sugar, minced ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes until the sugar dissolves. Add the water mixture to the pan and bring to a boil. Add bell pepper and snow peas and cook until vegetables are tender, about 3 or 4 minutes, depending on how crisp you want your vegetables to be. I like my vegetables to be a little more tender, so I cook them a little longer.

Serve over rice and sprinkle with peanuts.

Prep time: 15 minutes     Cook time: 10 minutes     Total time: 25 minutes

The thing I love about stir-fry dishes is that they are very quick.

​This recipe was really easy to make, affordable and healthy. A win, win, win!