Further life and times of *liltayinchina*

I cooked CHINESE food for my roommates last night! Kung Pao chicken was the first thing I learned how to order in Wuhan and I ate my weight in it monthly...at least. The recipe I found online was mostly correct. I only added a ton more spices and cucumbers, which give one more layer of delightful texture...served over brown rice, though the rice just wouldn't cook last night and well into our second bottle of red, we decided to forego the rice. This is totally easy to make and if you're an Asian food fan, you've probably already got most of the ingredients laying around.

INGREDIENTS:

--1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 in pieces

--1 tbsp cornstarch (I used about five times this)

--2 tsp light sesame oil (used a lot more of this too)

--3 tbsp green onions, chopped

--2 garlic cloves, minced

--1/4 to 1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

--1 nubbin fresh ginger, minced

--2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

--2 tbsp soy sauce

--2 tsp sugar

--1/3 cup roasted peanuts (I used a lot more - at least three times)

--1 unpeeled cucumber cut into half-inch bits 

Coat chicken in cornstarch and cook in oil over med heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove chicken from wok. Stir fry garlic, ginger and onions in additional oil until tender. In small bowl, mix vinegar, sugar and soy sauce. Return chicken to wok and pour in vinegar mixture. Add red pepper flakes and peanuts. Add cucumber as last step and cook only to heat and coat all ingredients in sauce. Serve over brown rice.