Kung Pao Chicken

I make my version of kung pao chicken quite often, but, I realized I haven't posted a recipe here so far. It is fairly light and non-greasy, and I usually serve it with sticky jasmine rice.

I like the sauce to just coat the chicken, and not have the few chicken pieces float in a pool of sauce. But, adjust sauce quantity to suit your taste. Also, the Kung Pao sauce ingredients can be varied in proportion to suit your taste as well.


Ingredients
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
4 Tbsp canola oil

coating: ¼ cup cornstarch + ¼ cup rice flour

marinade: soy sauce + red wine vinegar

kung pao sauce:
6-8 kung pao chilies (I used the ones from my garden)
2-3 medium shallots, finely diced
6-8 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger (or 1 Tbsp dry ginger powder)
¼ cup dry roasted peanuts
¼ cup light soy sauce
¼ cup kecap manis
¼ cup plain distilled vinegar
¼ cup sambal oelek or, any favorite hot chili sauce (less if preferred)
2 Tbsp mirin (optional)
1 Tbsp brown sugar or agave nectar (adjust to taste)
2 to 3 cups water
1 tsp cornstarch in 1Tbsp water for thickening (optional)

Preparation

1. marinate the chicken pieces in the marinade for about 15-20 minutes while assembling the other items
2. heat 1 Tbsp oil in a sauce pan and sauté the shallots, garlic, ginger and chilies, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients to the saucepan and simmer gently over medium low heat till sauce reduces and thickens a bit; if too runny, thicken with corn starch
3. heat 3 Tbsp oil in a pan, drain the chicken pieces, pat dry, and dredge with the coating, shake off excess, and add them to the hot oil in the pan; allow to form a seared coating at the bottom, then turn over and do the same; cook the chicken till done
4. turn off the heat for the sauce as well as the chicken and slowly add the sauce to the chicken, a little at a time, stirring gently to coat the chicken well; save any remaining sauce to use as dip or for stir fry seasoning
5. serve warm with hot jasmine rice

Stuffed Whole Okra

Whole fresh okras are hard to come by where I live and in any case, I prefer the frozen whole okra as it is par-cooked and easier to use in my favorite okra recipes.

This Stuffed Okra is very similar in concept to stuffed bitter gourd, or stuffed brussel sprouts or stuffed baby eggplant - simply slit and stuff with favorite masala and pan fry till desired crispness.

Ingredients
frozen whole okra, thawed and patted dry
masala paste as in stuffed baby eggplant or as in stuffed bitter gourd
salt to taste
some oil

Preparation

1. slit and stuff the okra with the masala
2. heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan, place the stuffed okra and pan fry over medium heat turning often till well done; I like them a little charred on the outside :)

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

This Macaroni & Cheese recipe is one of the staples at home as it is really creamy without a lot of fat, it is super easy to make on a week night, and this is one of the short list of foods that Ana requests.

Rather than heavy cream and a lot of cheese, this recipe uses canned evaporated milk with a small amount of freshly grated creamy colby jack cheese.

My other mac and cheese recipe is a bit different and is sort of an 'adult' version whereas this is a more kid-friendly version :)

Ingredients
2 cups raw elbow macaroni
1-2 cups canned evaporated milk - use only as much as needed
1 cup grated Colby Jack cheese
1-2 chicken bullion cubes in 3 cups water -or- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
frozen peas and carrots
salt as needed

Preparation

1. cook the elbow macaroni in the chicken or vegetable broth, or just water, over medium heat, with just enough water, not a huge pot like pasta is usually cooked in - this way, there isn't too much water to drain away and lose all the wholesome broth - as the milk and cheese are simply stirred into the macaroni
2. when macaroni is cooked al dente, add the frozen vegetables, add the grated cheese, then add the canned evaporated milk a little at a time, stirring constantly to get thick creamy texture
3. add enough evaporated milk so the macaroni & cheese is still a little runny as it will congeal on cooling and get lumpy :)