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Kung Pao Chicken |
I love Oriental food and I LOVE Kung Pao Chicken, so I wanted to share my GLUTEN FREE, home-cooked recipe {that tastes great to everybody} with you today.
I almost NEVER can eat at Chinese restaurants these days anymore, UNLESS they have a dedicated Gluten-Free menu {i.e.: P.F. Chang's} due to food allergies. It's just not worth the trouble it causes me.
Most soy sauces contain WHEAT, so they are certainly not gluten free!
La Choy Lite Soy Sauce
does NOT contain wheat.
Being Non-Celiac-Gluten-Sensitive, it's FRIENDLY (for people like me). I tolerate La Choy Lite Soy Sauce without any difficulty.
Everyone's individual; trust you gut and instincts! There are people who can't even tolerate SOY at all; I can't help you out there. Sorry!
A little ingredient that's BIG in Asian Cooking is Sesame Oil.
Update: Originally I hadn't added sesame oil to my Kung Pao Chicken recipe below previously. However, this time, I decided the sauce tasted somewhat flat and one-dimensional. So I tried adding in 1/2 tsp sesame oil. It shot up from a GOOD FLAVOR to a GREAT FLAVOR!!!
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- Note: Sesame oil was not pictured, but added LATER (don't omit)!
- Nor was the granulated sugar, yet sprinkled in by taste later too.
- I double my meat marinade mixture (freezing half) for another dinner!
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Kung Pao Chicken
Serves: 4
Meat Marinade: Marinate for 30 minutes
1 lb skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/4 cup water
1 small egg, beaten
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
Stir-Fry Veggies:
2-3 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 red pepper, chunks
1 green pepper, chunks
1 small zucchini, chunks
1 yellow squash, chunks
2 green onions (whites: sliced & greens: cut 1/2-inch pcs)
Sauce:
1/3 cup water
2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, use La Choy Lite, to make Gluten Free
1 Tbsp cornstarch (dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water)
1 tsp rice wine vinegar, unseasoned
1/2 tsp sesame oil, added to taste
Granulated sugar, added to taste
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, to taste
Serve With:
3-4 cups cooked rice (Calrose or Jasmine)
1/3 cup peanuts, dry-roasted
Marinade & Rice: Combine meat in a zip-type bag with egg, water, cornstarch and salt; marinate chilled, for at least 30 minutes. Prepare and chill veggies. Also, get the rice started [figure 20 minutes for white rice or 45 minutes for brown]. A rice cooker eliminates all the guesswork.
Sauce: In a small bowl, combine water and soy sauce, stir in dissolved cornstarch and rice wine. Chill and reserve.
Wok: Heat up a wok until hot, add about 1-Tbsp of oil. Drain meat, discarding marinade; quickly stir-fry meat with the garlic, in 1 Tbsp oil for 60-90 seconds, don't overcook. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Heat the remaining oil as needed, to stir-fry the red and green peppers until tender-crisp. Add zucchini, squash chunks and green onions last. Give the chilled sauce mixture a quick stir before adding to the veggies. Heat the sauce through to thicken; sweeten to taste with sugar. Add in ginger and red pepper flakes.
Serve: Over the hot rice, sprinkled with peanuts
Sides Suggestions: Fresh watermelon and steamed green beans
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Kung Pao Chicken |
Cuisine: Asian
Warmly,
Sharon Anne
Labels: Asian, Chicken, Gluten Free, Main Dish, Rice
