In the latest issue of Cooking Light, I found Kung Pao Chicken Tacos. What could be better? Tacos are a go-to meal with us, plus we eat Asian food two to three times a week. Last night as we sat down to some homemade Pad Thai, Drew remarked that we ate an awful lot of Americanized Asian food for two white kids. Our pantry is stocked with things like rice vinegar, sesame oil, and an extra bottle of soy sauce (just in case). We lamented the loss of several staples in the fridge during the Great Blackout of July 2012. One of the first things that we threw into our shopping cart once the power came back on (a week later) was sambal oelek. I can't believe we survived a week without it. It would be as bad as running out of Sriracha! Tragedy! In fact, while I was improvising on a less than stellar Thai dish, I realized with a big pout that I didn't replace the fish sauce... Does that happen to other people?
So it was with delight that I read through the recipe and realized that I had every single ingredient for this dish, except one. Technically, I didn't have the dry roasted peanuts. Drew had requested that we get honey roasted peanuts instead of dry roasted peanuts last time we went shopping, because he likes snacking on them better. I sighed, rolled my eyes, and agreed - never mind the fact that they are almost gone because I grabbed a few every time I opened the pantry. And sometimes I opened the pantry just because I was standing near it and remembered those sugar-coated fat drops were hiding in there. Oops.
In the end, it was a great recipe. We browned the chicken until it had a crunchy, salty crust - put it in the pan and don't touch it, for goodness sakes! We had some leftover "artisan" corn and whole wheat tortillas from meal last week that we carefully toasted under the broiler. We sliced up some beautiful red and orange banana peppers from the garden to place on top. And then we threw in our redneck ingredient - honey roasted peanuts. But you know what? The kung pao sauce already has honey in it. I was just adding, um, depth of flavor. Yeah. Balancing sweet, salty, savory. You know. Chef-type stuff. Umhmm.
Honey-roasted or not, don't forget the peanuts on this one. This dish has an incredible texture to it. It's quick enough for a weeknight, especially if you have a handsome sous chef like I do. If you don't have a well-stocked pantry for this, at least take the time at the store to grab yourself a bottle of sesame oil. You can improvise the rest of the sauce. Sesame oil will really add some excitement to a regular old stir fry, and you'll be glad you had it on hand next time you throw together some protein and frozen veggies. You do the "let's clean out the freezer" stir fries, too, don't you?
No leftover tortillas? Just steam up some rice, and you're good to go. (Rice tip: Boil the water, add the rice, put a lid on it for 10 minutes as it simmers on low. Then turn off the heat and let it steam for 10 more minutes. Don't stir it! Your rice is perfectly happy in its little stove-top sauna, and it doesn't need you poking around in there disturbing it. It can cook just fine without you peeking in or giving it a pep talk or whatever you do when you lift the lid. Most of my amateur cooking mistakes were messing too much with the food. See chicken browning tip above.)
Kung Pao Chicken Tacos
(adapted from Cooking Light)
3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bit size pieces
3 T soy sauce, divided
1/4 c plus 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch, divided
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 T canola oil, divided
1 1/2 T honey
1 T dark sesame oil
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sambal oelek (in Asian food aisle, near Sriracha sauce)
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 T coarsely chopped dry-roasted (or honey roasted) peanuts
3/4 c sliced celery
8 (6-in) corn tortillas
1/3 c sliced green onion tops
2 red/orange sweet banana peppers (or 1/2 bell pepper)
lime wedges, for serving
1. Marinate chicken pieces in 2 T soy sauce, at room temperature, for 30 minutes. If you are pressed for time, marinate chicken while you prep other ingredients and make sauce.
2. Remove chicken, discard marinade. Place 1/4 c cornstarch in gallon-size plastic bag. Sprinkle chicken with salt. Add chicken to bag and shake until chicken is coated.
3. Heat large skillet (don't use a non-stick if you want good browning) over med-high heat. Add 1 T canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of chicken; saute for 6 minutes or until done, turning to brown. Remove chicken from pan, drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining chicken and canola oil.
4. Combine remaining 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch, 2 T soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and sambal oelek in a microwave safe bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds, until thickened. (My microwave took 1 minute.) Stir in garlic.
5. Combine chicken, peanuts, celery, and sauce. Stir to coat chicken.
6. Toast tortillas under a broiler until lightly blistered, turning once. Place tortillas on plates, placing 1/8 the chicken mixture on each tortilla. Top with green onions and bell pepper strips. Serve with lime wedges.
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