Kung Pao Chicken (sort of)

My husband LOVES Kung Pao. He goes to chinese restaurants only to eat Kung Pao, and he rates their quality soley based on their version of it. There are many versions of Kung Pao out there. One of the basic ingredients in all of them we've encountered in the wild is peanuts, and since Julie doesn't get peanuts, we choose to leave them out of our version as well. Our version is – well – barely recognizeable as Kung Pao, but it still makes Joe very happy when I make it. Put on a pot of rice before you start cooking so you don't forget. We usually eat brown rice at home because it is so much more nutritious, but good old white rice is nice for a special treat too.

2 T dry sherry

1 T fish sauce

1 T Ener-G egg replacer, mixed with water per the directions on the box

salt

1 tsp. corn starch

1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast (two halves) cut into ½ inch cubes

¼ cup chicken stock

2 T cup peanut oil (or you can use some other cooking oil like canola)

½ tsp crushed chili flakes

1 T minced ginger

1 T minced garlic

3 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 can sliced bamboo shoots, chopped

In a medium bowl, combine the fish sauce, wine, egg replacer and ½ tsp corn starch and whisk together well. Toss the chicken in this mixture, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least ½ hour, or all afternoon is fine.

Combine the chicken stock and ½ tsp corn starch and set aside.

Drain and discard the marinade from the chicken. Heat the oil in a wok or a really big skillet over high heat, stir-fry half of the chicken at a time just until it is firm – about a minute. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Add ginger, garlic and crushed chili flakes to the pan, and stir for a few seconds before adding the green onions, peppers and bamboo shoots; stir-fry for one minute more. Add the chicken back in and cook about two more minutes, till chicken is done. Stir the stock/cornstarch mixture back up and add to the pan. Cook over high heat until the sauce thickens.