Spicy Kung PAO!! Chicken and Noodles

Ho-my goodness.  The flavor of this dish was incredible and the heat was insane.  Another recipe from Carlsbad Cravings that rocked our socks off.  Our mouths were EN FUEGO!!!  And of course, excited to have this one again.  Below is a little clip of what we looked like at the table.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large chicken breasts (1 pound), cut into bite size pieces
• 8 oz. vermicelli or thin spaghetti (I used whole wheat spaghetti noodles)
• 
  Marinade/Sauce
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 
  Stir Fry
• sesame oil (vegetable oil will do)
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 2-4 teaspoons red pepper flakes OR 8-12 dried red chilies (deseeded and cut into halves)**
• 1 8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 2-3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups snow peas, ends trimmed and cut in half (I used sugar snap peas)
• 5 stalks green onion, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup peanuts**

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium bowl, whisk together marinade/sauce ingredients. Add ¼ cup of the marinade/sauce to a large freezer bag with chicken. Store the remaining sauce separately in the refrigerator while you marinate the chicken for 30 minutes up to overnight (the longer the better).

Cook pasta al dente in generously salted water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large wok or skillet, dry roast peanuts until golden, tossing occasionally, approximately 3 minutes. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over high heat. Once hot and sizzling, add chicken (letting extra marinade drip off) and cook approximately 3-5 minutes, or until completely cooked through. Remove to a plate.

Turn heat down to medium and heat an additional 1 tablespoon oil. Add red pepper flakes (or chilies*), garlic and ginger and sauté for 30 seconds. Add water chestnuts, celery, red bell pepper, and snow peas and sauté 1 minute. Add chicken and reserved sauce to skillet and bring to a boil. Simmer until sauce thickens, approximately 30 seconds.

Stir in peanuts, green onions and noodles. Taste and add desired, salt, pepper, and/or red pepper flakes. You can even add sugar if you like your stir fry sweeter.

**This was seriously TOO good - HOWEVER! If you're a pussy when it comes to heat I totally recommend using LESS crushed red pepper.  I used 2-1/2 tsp and dare I say it was almost too hot.  Next time I might cut it down to 1 heaped tsp.  ALSO, I think I'll add another 1/4 cup of peanuts.

Cashew and Coconut Crusted Chicken Strips!

This meal was really good and really easy.  Even if you don't like coconut (like the texture) this meal is epic and the crust turns out so perfectly crunchy.  Yum yum!

I got the recipe from Carlsbad Cravings - this website has quickly become one of my favorites.  Every meal we've made from it has turned out so incredibly well!

My mom and dad absolutely love coconut so I'm sure they'd love this one!

• Cashew Coconut Chicken Tenders
• 12 chicken tenders (just over 2 pounds)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup toasted cashews
• ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 
  Mango Honey Dip
• 2 mangos, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 green onions, roughly chopped
• 1-2 teaspoons red chili flakes

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add cashews and coconut flakes to blender or food processor and process until cashews are about the size of the panko crumbs, scraping the sides of the blender as needed. Add cashews/coconut, panko, chicken tender spices and brown sugar to a shallow dish and mix until evenly distributed.
   
2. Place the flour in another shallow dish. Whisk the egg with the lime juice in another shallow dish. Working with one chicken tender at a time, dredge in flour and then dip in egg, and then finally coat in the coconut/cashew/panko mixture, pressing mixture into chicken with your fingers to make sure the coating sticks.  (I had a hard time taking pictures since my fingers were covered in egg and breading)
3. Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean up!) with a baking rack on top that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Lightly spray chicken with non-stick cooking spray for extra crispiness (optional). Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil until coconut is nicely golden, and panko crisp, but still light in color.
4. To make the Mango Honey Dip, place all the ingredients in a blender, starting with just 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes and process until smooth. Taste and add additional red pepper flakes as desired.

The only thing Brent and I did NOT like about this meal (other than the Zataran's Caribbean Rice I made for a side) was the Mango Honey Dip.  There was just something about it.  It was too runny and I really didn't like how vinegary it was.  I think next time I'd rather just drizzle a little honey over them or buy a mango chutney.  Or maybe I could just try it again without the vinegar.

The chicken strips were so incredibly crispy and delicious and the egg and lime juice wash added a perfect kick.  I'm excited to try this one again!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is by far the best sweet and sour chicken I've made, and the leftovers were amazing!!  This has pineapple, bell peppers and carrots in it.  Jen on the Biggest Loser said she considers veggies to be fair game and next time I plan on adding more veggies to it.  It was just too good.

This recipe requires a little bit of time so if you're looking for a quicker meal you might want to save this for another night.

• Chicken Breading
• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 ½ pounds), cut in bite-size pieces)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 
  Sweet and Sour Sauce
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice (from 20 oz. pineapple tidbits can below)
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons ketchup (6 tablespoons)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 
  Vegetables/Pineapple
• 1 (20 oz) can pineapple tidbits
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, sliced as THIN as possible (2-3 carrots)

Alright, here's where the fun begins!

1. Add "Sweet and Sour Sauce" ingredients to a medium/large saucepan, stir and bring to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer. Allow to simmer while you prepare the chicken and dice the vegetables, stirring occasionally (turn off if longer than 20 minutes). Note, the sauce will not thicken, simmering is to soften the onions and blend flavors.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, set aside. Add ½ cup flour to a large freezer bag; set aside next to eggs. Whisk cornstarch, garlic powder, salt, pepper, ginger powder and onion powder in medium bowl; set aside next to flour.
4. Add chicken to eggs and coat, then remove, allowing excess to drip off, then add to freezer bag with flour. Toss until evenly coated then discard any extra flour. Add cornstarch/spices to the chicken in the freezer bag and shake until evenly coated.
5. Over high heat, heat enough oil (any kind) to generously cover the bottom of a large skillet until hot and rippling. Add chicken and cook 1-2 minutes per side, or until browned but not cooked through. (You may need to cook in 2 batches depending on size of your skillet). Transfer chicken to prepared 9x13 baking dish.
6. Add carrots pineapple and peppers to the sweet and sauce and mix until well combined. Pour sauce over chicken and stir until sauce/chicken/vegetables are evenly combined. Cook, uncovered for 50 minutes or until sauce, stirring occasionally.
7. Serve over rice. Enjoy!