Friday, January 14, 2011

Mock Kung Pao Pork (or Chicken)

I threw this together last night after looking at a few different recipes.  Sorry if it seems a little confusing.  I ended up loving this, and it really was easy.  It was a little spicy for the kids, but I can adjust that next time.  I had pork on hand so that is what I used, but you could substitute chicken.

In ziploc bag mix:
2 T. corn starch
2 T. soy sauce

(This is kind of a strange texture, but once you put the meat in it does work)

Dice 1 lb. (or so) pork or chicken and place in bag, coat well.

Heat ~2 T. oil and once hot, cook meat.  When your meat is almost cooked add the following:

2 carrots diced
3 celery stalks diced
1 lg bell pepper diced

You may want to add more, this is what I did but I didn't have a pound of meat.


Continue to cook until meat is thoroughly cooked.  Veggies are cooked but still a little crunchy (just like with any stir-fry).  At this point I added the sauce.

Sauce: (from this website)
In a quart jar mix the following:  (once in just put a lid on and shake) 

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, minced 
3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
14 1/2 ounces chicken broth (a can) 
1/4 cup sherry or 1/4 cup white wine
 I just used orange juice cause that's what I had on hand, I know it is no where near white wine or sherry, but what do you do.  Also I put this in after I had the sauce warm and thick to thin it out a bit. Also it seemed a little sweet to me so next time I think I will use  a little less sugar.

This made a ton of sauce so you may want to half it or just put it in a little at a time, depending on how much meat and veggies you have.

Pour sauce in with meat and veggies and cook until it thickens.


At this point I added just a squirt of Sriracha hot chili sauce and a handful or so of cashews.  Stir it up and serve over rice. 


Just a warning, I put in a squirt and stirred it in and tried it and I thought it could use just a bit more, well I think it gets spicier as it cooks because it ended up being pretty spicy.  So start small and let it sit a few minutes before testing it.  I happened to have this on hand, but I'm sure you could use red pepper flakes.

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