Tuesday, October 01, 2013
When I lived and worked in Northern VA, one of my favorite take out dishes was Kung Pao Chicken. The first time I had this dish was at Duck Changs in Annandale, VA with Boeing coworkers. It was one of our favorite destinations for lunch.
In Northern VA, I knew of several great Szechuan places near my offices [Boeing Vienna, Va; G.E. Reston, VA; Rockwell Crystal City, VA] and residences.
There was even a great restaurant in the Crystal City Underground that delivered to the office buildings in the area, so sometimes [I seldom ate after 6:00 pm in those days unless out to dinner] I enjoyed Kung Pao Chicken if I worked late.
When I decided to buy-- I moved back to Maryland [Bowie, MD]. For some reason I felt the Kung Pao Chicken in Northern VA was spicier. When I moved to Hanover, MD-- because I no longer patronized VA restaurants, I learned to make my own.
Ingredients in my Kung Pao Chicken:
- Mr. Yoshida's Sauce
- Karo Light Corn Syrup
- Small Chicken Breast
- White Onion
- Scallions
- Green Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes [my dish is very spicy]
- Peanuts
- Pam Cooking Spray
- Minute Rice
What's missing in my version?
- Hoisin Sauce
- Bean Sprouts
- Oyster Sauce
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Peanut Oil
- Whole Red Chili Peppers
- Steamed Rice-- [sister took the rice cooker]
- Salt, Pepper and other spices
I had a hard time finding Rice Wine Vinegar in Maryland to mix with Hoisin Sauce one of the main reasons I chose to use Mr. Yoshida's Sauce.
My version is pretty easy to make and I have it once or twice a week.
I had this for lunch-- Monday, September 30, 2013. I had a BallPark Hamburger today.
Do I really use those chopsticks? Yes. My Boeing coworkers would probably be amazed by this. I used to leave a mess at our table.
