Kung Pao Chicken and Chinese Fried Rice

This is my riff on this classic. My biggest let-down with most stir-fries is the taste and texture of the chicken. How does it matter that the sauce is yummy and the peanuts are crunchy if the chicken is rubbery and flavourless...


This time around I fixed the problem of rubbery chicken. First and foremost, avoid chicken breast like the plague. All that muscle in the thighs and drums gives them much more flavour. I used boneless-skinless chicken thighs. Second, use the Chinese technique called 'velvetting' the meat. Essentially, marinate it in a cornstarch slurry for about half an hour. This is aimed at keeping the meat moist and thickening the sauce at the same time.


Indians believe in marinating their meat. Though this technique probably originated in preservation or injecting life into less palatable cuts of meat, I believe that it really enhances any dish. Lots of recipes require you to 'brine' your poultry before you roast/fry it, to make it more moist and juicy. Logically, the same is true for all other cooking methods.


So, in all my stir-fires and in this recipe, I combine the velvetting and brining technique by marinating the chicken thigh pieces in a mixture of soy, pepper and cornstarch. Marination brings up images of preparing menus beforehand and being a planning fiend. This is something I only manage rarely, but I have found that even half an hour, while I get everything else ready, makes a huge difference. If you eat dinner late like we do ( and most other Indians do), you can squeeze in a good hour.


I also upped the crunch factor and the vitamin factor by adding snap peas and sprouts.

As an added touch I used was Sichuan Peppercorns instead of the traditional dried red chillies. They transform the dish from mundane to why-does-this-kung-pao-chicken-taste-so-spectacular. These little red berries have a great flavour, quite different from regular black peppercorns, more smoky. They leave a numbing/tingling taste on your tongue. They are called tirphal or timmur in India and are a key ingredient in momos.

(Digression : I had no idea that they were the same thing until I came across a recipe for momos that used them. Momos are Tibet's gift to mankind and are very similar to Chinese dumplings/potstickers. India's culinary diversity is just something else. The very fact that we manage to stay together with a fairly strong national identity, inspite of all the differences, is just unbelievable. Ramachnadra Guha's masterpiece "India after Gandhi" gives fascinating insights into how my country was brought together after independence and how it was kept together in the following turbulent decades. It will also fill the glaring holes left by our history textbooks.)

This is my entry to the "Spice is Right" event hosted by Tigers and Strawberries. Do try Sichuan peppercorns sometime-they rock!

Ingredients


pound and a half of boneless skinless chicken thighs
teaspoon of cornstarch (or flour)
soy sauce
black pepper/chilli powder
sichuan peppercorns or dried red chillies
ginger
garlic
roasted peanuts
snap peas, sprouts
oil


Method


As soon as you can or think of it, get started on the chicken, it will only take a few minutes. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Remember that chicken expands as it cooks and the smaller the chicken pieces, the faster they absorb the marinade and cook. Stir a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, some ground black pepper or chilli powder and the cornstarch/flour together. Put the chicken in a bowl and pour the mixture over it. Get your fingers in there and mix things around so that the sauce coats all the chicken pieces. Cover with plastic wrap, chuck in the fridge, wash your chickeny hands and exit the kitchen, dreaming of the yummy stir-fry that awaits you.

When you are ready to cook, heat some oil on high heat in a wok or kadai(the indian word for wok, just use the dish that always seems to burn your food when you arent looking). Mince the ginger and garlic. If you are using the Sichuan peppercorns, crush them to a coarse powder in a mortar pestle. Wait till the oil looks like it will begin to smoke any moment. Add the ginger, garlic, peppercorns/dried red chillies, peanuts and swirl. Once the ginger and garlic are toasted, add the chicken. Toss.

The next step calls for a bit of judgement. If you have a great wok that gets really hot and your chicken is in small pieces, stir-frying it for a few minutes should cook the chicken. If not, sprinkle some water in and shut the pan for a minute. Once you feel the chicken is fairly cooked, uncover and let any remaining water evaporate.

Add a little more soy sauce or hoisin sauce if you feel the need. Toss in the snap peas and sprouts. Couple of swirls of the wok and you are done. Enjoy.


Chinese Fried Rice

The key to good fried rice is the rice - it should be cool if not cold and fairly dry with separate grains. I end up making fried rice mostly to use up left over rice.

Ingredients

Cooked rice
ginger
garlic
soy sauce
ground black pepper

optional:
egg
green onions/spring onions
veggies- carrots,beans
green chillies

Method

Mince ginger, garlic,green chillies and the white parts of the green onions. Chop the veggies into tiny pieces or strips. Cut the green parts of the green onions diagonally into half an inch pieces.

Heat oil in a wok on high heat. Wait till it is nearly smoking. Break the egg into the oil and stir it around. Hot oil and egg leads to yummy fluffy scrambled egg. Once it sets, take it out, leaving the oil behind. Reserve at arms reach.

Add the ginger, garlic, white parts of green onions and green chillies to the oil. Toss till softened. Add the veggies and toss till cooked. Add the egg and the rice. Add soy sauce, salt if needed and a generous quantity of ground black pepper. Stir the rice around, breaking up any lumps and making sure all the rice is coated with soy sauce. In a minute or so, taste, adjust seasoning and serve piping hot.