(no subject)

[bzarcher]

Two chefs living in the same house is NOT a safe thing.

It leads to things like a Russian Roulette of 'how spicy can dinner be made?'

He's Korean.

I'm Norweigan.

Neither of us is backing down.

But, on the upside, after a few hits of cayenne and some tenminjan, I think that was the best Kung Pao beef I've ever had.

Comments

[aleksandra1183.livejournal.com]

I've always wanted to try Kung Pao. I think shadowtherat mentioning his dad makes it sometimes or something. Mmm...foooood.

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

Sounds tasty. Wish I could've been there to see the chef-off.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Tonight was mostly Alex, with me adding spicing suggestions. :>

Last night was me doing sloppy joes, and him telling me to kick it up because he wasn't feeling it. :>

I gave him German potato salad for the first time in his life. Not scratch, sadly, but still. :D

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

It's not hard at all.

You'll need

-A wok or large skillet.
-About a pound and a half of meat - Sliced or cubed to bite sized.
-1/2 cup peanuts.
-2 green onions, chopped into 1" pieces
-1 sliced red pepper
-1 sliced onion
Since we're gonna cheat for ya (and because I don't want to assume you have the time and/or a good asian grocer nearby for making the sauce from scratch), get a packet of Kung Pao sauce mix (most will be labled chicken but are very flexible on the meat you actually use) from the store, probably in the ethnic isle.
You may want to add a can of sliced water chestnuts, too.

I'd also make a bed of plan white rice to put this on.

Cooking:

Get your wok or skillet up to heat and add oil. No more than a tablespoon or two. We use dark sesame oil, but you can do anything and still have this work.

Add your meat and get it nicely browned up. Mix the sauce up per the directions as well.

Add the sliced peppers and onions, stir fry them for about 5 minutes and get them cooked in a bit, then add the sauce. Cook this until the sauce has started to thicken up and the meat seems 3/4 (or a bit more) of the way done.

Add the waterchestnuts and peanuts. Stir fry until they're sauced up and warmed, then add the green onions and get them nicely distributed. Put rice on your plates and spoon the kung pao directly on.

To heat this up, add any of the following-

Red pepper flakes
Cayenne powder
RedHot sauce
Schezuan Hot Bean Paste (tenminjan)
dried or whole chilis.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Oh - You will see restaurants that do closer to a cup of peanuts. This is perfectly fine, too!

Also, sometimes a decent dash of sesame seeds added just before you take it off heat gives a good texture and a bit of crunch.

[ardaniel]

Sriracha is also acceptable, and somewhat more Vaguely Asian than RedHot Sauce. Some of you may know this miracle condiment as "rooster sauce" due to the rooster on the bottle; it's the standard spicy sauce on the table at noodle joints in the Northeastern US. ; )

[silentsteel.livejournal.com]

Sssspiceyh! Mmmmmm. :3 I'll have to dig up my spicey recipes for you guys. :D I'm curious as to what you'll think of them. :D

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

True! Though somewhat less likely to be found in random.US kitchen. :D

Good stuff, tho.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

We never say no. :>

*Smirks*

[skarlette.livejournal.com]

Why can I see a cole slaw-kim chee taste test in the works? Also is there anything I can bring when I come over next week?

*Kiss!*

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Every time he talks about his mom's Kimchee, the words, "But I don't want us to get kicked out of the house for the smell" comes up. :D I suspect he may bring some back in a tupperware, though.

*smiles* Anything you think would be fun, dear. Most imporantly yourself. He'll only be back on Monday, but hopefully we can all get lunch!

Oh, and...

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

*Hug*
*dipkiss*

Missed you last night. Love you, dear.

[angeljester.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh the craving for a night of heartburn spicey food!!!!!!

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Well, figure out a night you guys would like to come to dinner and give us some ideas of dishes you like. :D

Re: *Kiss!*

[litagemini.livejournal.com]

Every time I see the word "Kimchee" mentioned, it reminds me that we used to have a dog named that.

Although we never kept one dog for very long, it still is the most hilarious dog name ever.

[dania-audax.livejournal.com]

So, did it turn out to be Kung Pao or KUNG KA-BLAM!!

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Kung-POW!, mostly.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

I can dig it.

[timroff.livejournal.com]

Take that "pound and a half of meat" and turn it into a 1.5 lb. Strip Steak.

Take said steak, and, while raw, slice it into 1/4" medallions (the average 8" steak would then yield 32 medallions)

Add thea meat, peppers and onions all at the same time, and you'll end up with medium-rare to medium slices of incredible goodness for that dish.

also, make sure that the peanuts are NOT salty dry roasted planters nuts. instead, look for peanuts cooked in the shell, then clean them. Much much better tasting that way.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Oh, god, yes. Definently not dry roasted.