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Recipe for "chick-kung-pao"

NAME

     CHICK-KUNG-PAO - Stir-fried chicken with vegetables
     This recipe is from a Szechuan cooking class taught by Susan
     Newberry, Minnetonka, Minnesota.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

     350 g     chicken breast, boned and cut into shreds
     cornstarch"
     1         egg white
     1         garlic clove, minced
     1         piece ginger, minced
     7.5 ml    red pepper, crushed
     75 g      skinless peanuts
     150 g     bamboo shoots, diced
     100 g     peapods
     50 g      straw mushrooms
               oil
          SAUCE:
     30 ml     brown bean sauce
     15 ml     hoisin sauce
     5 ml      sugar
     10 ml     rice cooking wine (or use dry sherry)
     30 ml     water

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Dust chicken breast with cornstarch and massage in
               egg white.
          (2)  Mix sauce ingredients.
          (3)  Heat oil in  wok  and  stir-fry  peanuts  briefly.
               Remove from pan.
          (4)  Stir-fry chicken about two minutes.   Remove  from
               pan.
          (5)  Pour in red pepper, garlic and ginger.  Fry  until
               peppers begin to change color.
          (6)  Add peapods, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, chicken and
               sauce.   Stir and cook 1 minute. Add peanuts, toss
               and serve.

NOTES

     The original recipe  said  the  mushrooms  and  peapods  are
     optional  but  I  found that they are a must. The cornstarch
     and egg white act to seal the moisture so the  chicken  does
     not  get  dry.  This gives the chicken a very different tex-
     ture.  I feel this is the way to stir fry chicken.  But make
     sure that you do not let the chicken and egg white stand for
     more than 5 minutes, otherwise the egg white starts to  run.
     Raw skinless peanuts are best, but you can also use blanched
     peanuts.  The hoisin sauce and bean sauce are  available  at
     any oriental grocery store and at some supermarkets.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time: 15 minutes preparation,  5  minutes
     cooking.  Precision: No need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Chi Vu
     Honeywell Inc., Systems and Research Center, Minneapolis, MN
        {ihnp4,philabs}!srcsip!vu