Chicken Chunks With Peanuts In Spicy Sauce (Kung Pao)

Ingredients and Instructions

1/2 cup peanuts, raw

3 cup oil, peanut

2 each chicken, breasts

1 each egg, white

1 1/2 tablespoon water chestnut flour

---SAUCE---

4 each onions, green

2 each garlic, cloves

1 tablespoon ginger, root, minced

1/2 cup stock, chicken

1/2 tablespoon oil, sesame

1/2 tablespoon vinegar, chinese, red

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, dark

1 1/2 teaspoon chili paste, with garlic

1 tablespoon sherry, dry

1 sugar, pinch

1 cornstarch, paste

Preparation: Trim ends off green onions and cut light green and white part into 1 inch sections. Mix all other sauce ingredients in 2-quart saucepan. Reserve. Pull skin off breasts, then pull chicken meat from bones. Slice meat into 1 inch strips, then crosswise to make 1 inch chunks. In bowl large enough to hold chicken, add egg white to water chestnut flour. Beat mixture with a single chopstick (not an egg beater or whisk). Stir chicken pieces into egg mixture to coat thoroughly. Marinate 5 minutes. Note: water chestnut flour gives a lighter crust than cornstarch, though the latter may be substituted. Deep-frying: Heat cooking oil in wok or deep-fryer to medium heat. Fry peanuts until they are a light tan color; if a test peanut browns quickly, turn down heat. Remove peanuts with strainer or slotted spoon; drain on paper towel or paper bag. Reserve. Turn up heat slightly for chicken. Test a chunk first: chicken should raise to surface immediately & brown in about 2 minutes. Deep-fry coated chicken chunks until golden brown. Deep-fry no more than 8 chunks at a time. Use long chopsticks or spatula to keep pieces separate while they are frying. Remove with long chopsticks or slotted spoon. Reserve. Sauce: While deep-frying chicken, heat sauce to simmer. Add green onions & peanuts about a minute before serving. At the last minute, add chicken pieces to sauce, mix quickly & serve.