I decided to add kung pao peppers to this year's grow list because I wanted to try to make an authentic kung pao chicken dish. A couple of days ago the first four kung pao peppers ripened, so I knew this weekend would be my chance.
I cannot take credit for the recipe, which I found at: http://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-kung-pao-chicken/2/ The reason I liked this recipe is that it is not a Westernized version of the dish, and as such it does not include non-tradiational kung pao ingredients like (water chestnuts or carrots) that are so common in resteraunt versions of this dish.
I expanded the recipe for five large chicken breasts, and I used fresh kung pao peppers rather than dried ones. The garlic was picked from the garden minutes before making this, as were the green onions that replaced scallions (I try to use what I grow).
The most important step was infusing the oils from the kung pao peppers into the garlic and ginger slices. I took my time with this part, and it payed off because in the end the garlic pieces were the hottest part of the entire dish.
The recipe is quite picky with a lot of steps that have to be followed in a specific sequence. Even so, I give it an "easy" in terms of difficulty level, because I managed fine in my first run. This picture shows the last cooking step.
This last picture is a bit deceptive because the bowl is quite big. Remember that this is five good sized chicken breasts worth.
Overall review: I give this recipe an A. The only thing holding it back from an A+ is that it is a little heavy in terms of the amount of cornstarch in the recipe. Next time I was be careful to level each spoonful in order to cut it back slightly. Even so, it was exceptionally tasty, and had a bit of heat to it but not so much that I was eating alone. My friends were fighting over who got to take what few leftovers there were home with them. The only down side to this attempt at making it was that I did not have enough ripe kung pao peppers yet to match what the recipe calls for. It would have been significantly hotter with double the peppers. I could have substituted a different type of pepper, but then it would no longer be kung pao chicken and it would defeat the purpose of what I was doing.
I cannot take credit for the recipe, which I found at: http://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-kung-pao-chicken/2/ The reason I liked this recipe is that it is not a Westernized version of the dish, and as such it does not include non-tradiational kung pao ingredients like (water chestnuts or carrots) that are so common in resteraunt versions of this dish.
I expanded the recipe for five large chicken breasts, and I used fresh kung pao peppers rather than dried ones. The garlic was picked from the garden minutes before making this, as were the green onions that replaced scallions (I try to use what I grow).
The most important step was infusing the oils from the kung pao peppers into the garlic and ginger slices. I took my time with this part, and it payed off because in the end the garlic pieces were the hottest part of the entire dish.
The recipe is quite picky with a lot of steps that have to be followed in a specific sequence. Even so, I give it an "easy" in terms of difficulty level, because I managed fine in my first run. This picture shows the last cooking step.
This last picture is a bit deceptive because the bowl is quite big. Remember that this is five good sized chicken breasts worth.
Overall review: I give this recipe an A. The only thing holding it back from an A+ is that it is a little heavy in terms of the amount of cornstarch in the recipe. Next time I was be careful to level each spoonful in order to cut it back slightly. Even so, it was exceptionally tasty, and had a bit of heat to it but not so much that I was eating alone. My friends were fighting over who got to take what few leftovers there were home with them. The only down side to this attempt at making it was that I did not have enough ripe kung pao peppers yet to match what the recipe calls for. It would have been significantly hotter with double the peppers. I could have substituted a different type of pepper, but then it would no longer be kung pao chicken and it would defeat the purpose of what I was doing.
(And going for authentic, did ya use Sichuan peppercorns?? 
)
