VEGETABLE KUNG PAO

Vegetable Kung Pao is one of the most popular dishes from the Schizuan region. This dish originated from the province of Szechuan, Kung Pao is one of China's favorite dishes. This basic stir-fry recipe with its spicy, velvety sauce is enjoyed as a vegetarian main dish, as a vegetable side dish, or with meat or seafood added for a one-dish meal. While Kung Pao is a dish originally from China's Schizuan province, Indian cooks have for years now adapted it to suit local tastes. The charred dry red chilies provide the fiery taste to these vegetables. It’s a great vegetarian recipe that is healthy and has great flavor (with a bit of a kick from the Kung Pao sauce) and full of texture.

Also makes a great veggie side dish with another entrée. Chinese cooking adds a plethora of colorful, healthful vegetable to almost any recipe. Also, the strong, vibrant flavors of all those sauces and vinegar and oils would make it difficult even for a meat-eater to miss the meat. The stock like the vegetable stock used in soups and saucy dishes adds a richer dimension and flavor to the final result. This is one of the best ways to enjoy a delicious vegetarian or vegan meal that boosts health instead of weighing it down with cholesterol.

The original Sichuan version uses chicken as its primary ingredient which is popularly known as the Kung Pao chicken. In this original version, diced chicken is typically mixed with a prepared marinade. The wok is seasoned and then chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns are flash fried to add fragrance to the oil. Then the chicken is stir-fried and vegetables, along with peanuts, are added. Shaoxing wine is used to enhance flavor in the marinade. The dish exists in both traditional Sichuan and Westernized versions; the latter is more popular in the United States and Canada. Kung Pao Chicken starts off with fresh, moist, unroasted peanuts or cashew nuts. These are often used instead of their pre-roasted versions.

The peanuts or cashew nuts are dropped into the hot oil on the bottom of the wok first, and then deep fried until golden brown before the other ingredients are added. In Sichuan, when preparing authentic Kung Pao (gong bao ji ding) only Sichuan-style chili peppers such as Chao tian jiao or qi xing jiao are used. Smaller, thinner Sichuanese varieties may also be used. These peppercorns have a distinctive numbing flavor and is a typical element of the Sichuan cooking.

For preparing this delectable Indo Chinese dish, in a bowl add vegetable stock (if u don’t have  fresh vegetable stock u can add vegetable stock cubes into 2 cups of hot water and dissolve ), soya sauce, pepper powder, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce (optional), Ajinomoto, sugar slit red chilli (if you want it to be too spicy) and  chilly sauce.

Stir all ingredients well to make a delicious concoction for the Kung Pao sauce. Cut all the vegetables (snow peas, beans, baby corns, Carrots, onions, 2 different kinds of mushrooms, bell peppers and chestnut) evenly so that they get cooked in same time.

Heat sesame oil a pan and add chopped dry red chilly. Saute them well till they become dark brown which helps in infusing the flavors in the oil and make the dish spicy, then add chopped ginger and garlic and sauté for few minutes. Now add all the vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes in low flame.

Then add the sauce to the vegetables and cook for 10 minutes (close the pan and cook). Do not overcook the vegetables as they should be crunchy and boiled. Then add the roasted nuts and spring onion. Check salt, Add tofu cubes and mix.

Finally, add the cornflour mix (mix corn flour to 1/4cup of water) to thicken the gravy. Cook for another 2 minutes. So the delicious vegetable kung pao is ready to serve. Kung Pao vegetable is a very healthy and nutritious dish low in fat and cholesterol with lots of vitamins and nutrients.

Do prepare this amazing Indo Chinese dish for your family and enjoy the taste of the dish.

Watch the making of this fantastic dish at:

https://www.vahrehvah.com/vegetable-kung-pao

It is important that all your vegetables be roughly the same size when you chop them so they will cook evenly. Cut those veggies that take a little longer to cook, like carrots, a little smaller. You can use all kinds of veggies here, including cabbage. You can also add some tofu, cut into cubes, just before you add the cornstarch. Normally for the Kung Pao, the recipe includes a lot of heat with three different kinds of chilies, so if you don't like your food hot, feel free to leave out everything but the red chilies that go in at the beginning of the recipe.

Enjoy, Happy Cooking!