Kung Pao Chicken
You will Need: Slow Cooker/Crock Pot and Wok
Ingredients:
*3 pounds boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, I use frozen, thaw in fridge
*1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
*3 tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
*1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
*1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
*2 tablespoons Dry Chopped Onion Flakes
*2 tablespoons Dry Minced Garlic
*3 tablespoons Brown Sugar
*1 inch Fresh Ginger, peeled and grated
*2 cups diagonally sliced Long Green Beans, I used frozen from my garden, but if you use fresh slice length wise and then in half
*5 Green Onions, all white parts and some green, save some for garnish
*1 large Yellow or Red Bell Pepper, sliced
*2/3 cup Unsalted Roasted Peanuts, roughly chop if desired, save some for garnish
**Cornstarch, if needed for thickening the sauce
**Extra Light Olive Oil for Wok or other high heat oil
**Cooked White Rice, I used a rice cooker
Instructions:
Gather all ingredients.
In a Slower Cooker/Crockpot with liner for easy clean up, add the frozen chicken thighs. Then add the follow ingredients pouring/spreading evenly over chicken: Rice vinegar, soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, red pepper, dry onion and garlic, brown sugar and ginger. Cover with lid and allow to cook on high for 6 hours or according to you slow cooker instructions.
Then remove chicken thighs one at a time to your cutting board and cut into 1 inch pieces. Reserve the juices in the crockpot/slow cooker.
Heat wok with 3 tablespoon vegetable oil or (I like to use extra light olive oil, it needs to be extra light) medium high heat on stove. Add the cooked chicken pieces and toss/stir every so often until browning occurs (3 to 5 minutes) on some pieces of chicken. Remove the chicken to a large bowl. Set aside.
Note: I like to cook the chicken this way to give the chicken as much flavor as possible and l really love the meat to be tender not chewy.
Add to the wok the green beans, cook on medium high heat in the wok for a 2 minutes then add bell peppers cook another 1 to 2 minutes and add peanuts, scallions and browned chicken pieces. Stir/toss together, remove from heat and set aside.
Sauce:
Remove the juices from the crockpot and pour over chicken. Note: If the juices are very liquidly then add juices to a sauce pan and bring to a boil and then simmer sauce down until it thickens. If needed make a slurry in a small bowl add 1 tablespoon cornstarch 3 tablespoons cold water mix until incorporated then add to the juices a little at a time and stir until sauce thickens and then pour over chicken mixture, toss/stir together. Serve over rice and garnish with peanuts and green onions as desired. Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Lindy
