Kung Pao Chicken

I love this recipe. I’m not sure how authentic it really is, but it’s one of my favorites. My mom found it Winifred Jardine’s “Managing Your Meals” and made it several times when I was growing up. Sadly, the cookbook is out of print. I have a copy of it and I use it a lot; in fact, I use it so much the binding is shot. My husband, babe and I eat this meal several times a year and always love it.

One thing I like about the recipe is that you can adjust the spiciness to your family’s liking. My husband prefers the sensation of swallowing a live coal. Baby M and I, on the other hand, do not. The spiciness comes from the dried red peppers. To increase the spiciness, tear several open, and sprinkle the seeds into the skillet when you sauté the peppers and peanuts. The recipe is not spicy at all unless you sprinkle seeds into the skillet. I recommend 2-3 peppers worth of seeds. My husband recommends tearing all the peppers open and sautéing all the seeds. I let him add seeds to his finished plate at the end. Serve with steamed rice and steamed broccoli.

Kung Pao Chicken
recipe from “Managing Your Meals,” by Winifred Jardine
1 tablespoon pineapple juice (or other fruit juice)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 chicken breast halves, diced
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Cooking sauce*
8-10 small dry chili peppers (found in the spice section of the grocery store)
½ cup salted peanuts
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
2 green onions, sliced (white separated from green)

In a medium bowl combine pineapple juice, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Add chicken; stir to coat, then stir in 1 tablespoon oil; let stand 15 minutes.  Prepare cooking sauce and set aside.

Heat wok or large skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil, chili peppers, seeds from peppers, and peanuts. Stir until peppers begin to char. Immediately remove peppers, seeds and peanuts.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and increase the heat to high. Add garlic and ginger, stirring constantly until browned. Add chicken. Stir fry until chicken becomes opaque and lightly browned. Add peppers, seeds, peanuts, and white pieces of onion to the skillet. Stir cooking sauce, pour into skillet, cook and stir until sauce thickens and
bubbles. Garnish with green pieces of the chopped green onion. Makes 4 servings.

*Cooking sauce:
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or other vinegar)
½ cup chicken broth or water
4 teaspoons sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir and set aside.

Printable version of Kung Pao Chicken

Ode to Sweet Shredded Pork

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach . . .”
(Elizabeth Barrett Browining, "How Do I Love Thee")

I thought about writing my own spin on Barrett Browning’s lovely poem to express my adoration for sweet pork, but quickly reconsidered. Instead I will list why I am in love with it.

1. It’s one of those throw-it-in-the-crock-pot-and-forget-about-it for 12 hours meals. Who doesn’t love that? It turns out wonderfully tender and if you have time to leave it in the crock-pot longer, some pieces get a little crispy. So good!

2. The meat stretches a bit. That’s not what I meant. You can get several meals from one recipe of sweet pork. If you’re making tostadas, use about 1/3 cup of meat for each serving. Layer tortillas, meat, rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, and dressing.

3. It freezes and reheats very nicely so you can have quick, delicious meals later. I put family size servings in freezer bags, push all the air out, flatten, label, and stack like bricks in the freezer. You can reheat the pork in the oven, stove top, or microwave.

4. It’s pretty versatile. I’ve made pork tacos with those delicious cook at home tortillas. I’ve also made pork tostadas with sweet pork layering crisp corn tortillas, meat, black beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, cotija cheese, tomatillo ranch dressing and lime wedges. I think it would also make a really good pulled pork sandwich, served hot on a toasted Kaiser bun.


Here's the recipe.  Enjoy!


Sweet Shredded Pork
3 pounds Boston Butt pork roast (what kind of name is that, anyway?)
2-5 cloves garlic, minced (depending on how much you like garlic)
1 ½ cups Coke
¾ cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
Juice from 2 limes

Place pork roast in the crock-pot. Spread garlic on top of roast, and pour Coke on top. Cook it on low for 6-8 hours. Boston Butt’s are pretty fatty, so you will have lots of liquid in the crock-pot after 6-8 hours of cooking. Drain as much liquid off as possible, then shred the meat with two forks. Add the remaining ingredients, stir through and simmer on low until ready to serve. If making tostadas, serve them with any or all of the following: crisp corn tortillas, meat, steamed rice, black beans, cheese, shredded romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, cotija cheese, cilantro, sour cream, lime wedges, tomatillo ranch dressing (recipe here).

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Bibimbap

I found this recipe on Ambitious Delicious(ness). Try it if you like Korean food. Try it if you don't. It's a great way to get lots of veggies in at dinner. But if you're short on time, or pots and pans, be warned; this dish is not for you. It's time consuming because you have to prep and cook each vegetable separately and then wash all the dishes afterward. Lots of prep, lots of time, lots of dishes, but worth it if you have time.

In Korean bibimbap means "mixed rice," this dish was aptly named because basically it's steamed rice with a bunch of root vegetable side dishes mixed together.

My husband was the most excited for this meal; he ate it a lot when he lived in Korea, but I also enticed my 19 month-old to eat it. Probably because it was a colorful offering, although most of her food ended up on the floor.

Things I would do differently next time:
1. Serve it in really hot stone bowls. The rice in the bottom gets toasty and delicious in a hot stone.

2. Serve it with Miso or Egg Drop soup, like Ambitious Delicious(ness) suggests.

3. Use less gochujang in my bowl. I like spiciness, but my food was a bit like swallowing a live coal.

4. Cook the eggs as the final step. Layer the food in bowls and then cook the eggs and put on top.

Ingredients:
4 cups sushi rice, steamed
1 package baby spinach
1/2 pound ground beef
1 pound bean sprouts
2 carrots
1 large cucumber
7-8 whole mushrooms
6 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar
4-5 eggs
salt to taste

Spinach:
Pour 3-4 cups of water into a pot. When the water is boiling, add spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and squeeze excess water out. Season with salt and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Put an oven preheated to 170.

Bean Sprouts:
Wash sprouts, remove any filmy or long root pieces. Pour 3-4 cups of water into a pot. When the water is boiling, add bean sprouts, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Drain, and season with salt and 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Put cooked sprouts in the warm oven.

Carrots:
Peel and grate carrots. Coat a skillet with oil and cook carrots until tender. Remove from heat and put in the warm oven.

Enokitake Mushrooms: (I used white button mushrooms)
Remove mushroom ends with a knife. Chop mushroom caps and rinse with water. Pour 3-4 cups of water into a pot. When the water is boiling add chopped mushroom caps and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Put mushrooms in the warm oven.

Shitake Mushrooms: (I used white button mushrooms)
Wash mushrooms and slice into strips. Coat a skillet with oil and sauté until mushrooms are tender.

Cucumbers:
Wash cucumber, slice in half lengthwise, and then slice each half horizontally. Season with 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon vinegar. Set aside.

Ground beef:
Put ground beef into a mixing bowl. Add 2 cloves minced garlic and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Cook until brown and thoroughly cooked.

Eggs:
Coat a skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Cook the eggs over-easy, or over-medium; you want solid whites and semi-solid yolk. The yolk breaks when you put it over the rest of the ingredients and cooks through then.

To Serve:
Put about 1 cup of steamed sushi rice in the bottom of a HOT stone bowl. Add spinach, sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, cucumbers, and ground beef. Sprinkle a little sesame oil on top, add the egg, and a little gochujang. You can always add more gochujang if you think it needs more. Enjoy!

Note:
Prepare the raw ground beef first so the flavors of the soy sauce and garlic seep into the meat while you prepare the vegetables.

Printable version of Bibimbap

Creamy Tomatillo Ranch Salad Dressing

I just realized this dressing recipe is embedded in the Taco Salad post.  Thought it might be helpful for it to have it's own post.

1 jalepeno (remove seeds for milder dressing)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tomatillo, chopped
1 handful cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup milk
1 package ranch dressing powder (I used Hidden Valley)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream

Remove jalepeno stem, seeds and put it in the blender.  Add crushed garlic, chopped tomatillo, cilantro, lime juice, milk, and ranch dressing mix.  Blend until all ingredients are mixed well and the cilantro and tomatillo are pureed.  Add mayonnaise and sour cream and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Dressing lasts up to one week covered in the refrigerator.

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