Kung Slap Chicken

Yeah, it wasn't quite Pao, it was more of a light slap.  I'm a spicy sissy so I toned this down a lot.  That is the magic of making my own dinner, I can do what I want and no one will care!  Well someone might, but no one else has to eat it.

So you've probably figured out I made Kung Pao Chicken tonight.  It turned out really well.  I made a few changes to the recipe and I probably should post it on the page for the recipe, but I want to remember what I did so I will post it here.

• I doubled the chicken and quadrupled the sauce.
• I used peanut oil instead of sesame oil.  I didn't have either and Mother said peanut oil will last longer so I should probably buy that since I don't use it a lot.
• I used cream sherry instead of white wine.  Another one of Mother's tricks.  She swears by sherry in Chinese recipes.
• I added about a teaspoon of ginger and only used a clove of garlic.  I like ginger, so I used it.
• I used cashews instead of peanuts.  It's what I had on hand so that's what got used.
• I used red pepper flake instead of chile paste.  I don't have chili paste.  I have no reason to buy it.  I used about a pinch of pepper flake and called it even.  
• I dumped the chicken and marinade in the pan and cooked the chicken.  Then I added the sauce to the chicken.  That's called saving on dirty dishes.  I don't know if it would have better done the proper way or not, but it still turned out pretty darn good.  

I made rice and steamed the broccoli and cauliflower to go with the chicken.  It was one of my better adventures in the kitchen.  It was my first time playing with cornstarch and that was kind of fun!  It was my first time attempting Chinese and I don't think it will be my last.

I'm also sorry to say I lost another pot holder to the fire.  I have the worst time with the gas stove and the potholders becoming friends!  That was at least the second if not third one since August.  It's gotten to the point now that I don't even freak out a little bit.  More like shrug the shoulders and toss it in the sink.

While I'm talking about the truths of what happened in the kitchen tonight I have another confession.  I didn't use the water chestnuts from Bountiful Basket.  I was going to, but then I just opened a can.  I almost feel guilty about it!  See, I have a great excuse.  I was working almost the entire time I was trying to prepare dinner.  I was crossing off things on the recipe as I added them because I had to keep doing other things.  By the time I got around to the water chestnuts I had a moment and went to the cupboard.  I'm not proud of opening the can, but I did it and I just have to live with myself.  The thing that really matters is that if I didn't get those water chestnuts I never would have tried this, so it's still a win for the Basket.

That's it for the cooking adventures this week.  I've already spent more time in the kitchen that I usually do in a month.  I did order a Basket for pickup Saturday so hopefully there will be some more culinary adventures coming soon to a blog near you!