Will this really work?

A few days ago, I ordered Kung Pao chicken for lunch at the food court.. and it really wasn’t that good because the chicken was dry and overcooked. I remember saying to my colleagues, that I can probably do a better job… so did a little research online for recipes for kung pao chicken… and noticed the word “scallops” in one of the recipes, thus decided to include that into the dish.

Here’s a draft of what I’m probably going to do for the dish, plan to execute it next Sat at home while my parents are away.

Kung Pao chicken with scallops

2-3 boneless chicken thigh/drumstick
200 gm scallops
Salt and pepper
Oyster sauce
Chinese vinegar
Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing/hua diao)
Sugar
Szechuan pepper
Dark and Light soy sauce
Cornstarch
Dried Chillies
Spring onions
Shallots/Onions
Red bell pepper
Cashew nuts
Corn and sesame oil
Garlic and ginger
Garlic chilli sauce (can use leftover ones from Mcdonalds)

First and foremost, cut chicken into bite size chunks. Rub a little salt and white pepper in there, then a little oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Dash of the hot Szechuan pepper. Splash some shaoxing/huadiao. A little sesame oil in there for added fragrance as well. Add some sugar. A little garlic will be nice too. Leave it to marinade for about 25-30 mins.

After 20 mins, rub salt and pepper onto the scallops. Won’t be doing too much so as to retain the scallops’ original flavor. Add the cornstarch to both the marinated chicken and scallops. Done in seperate bowls.

Chop up the dried chillies, spring onion, shallots/onion and red bell pepper. Chop garlic and slice some ginger as well.

Heat the wok till very hot at high heat. Add some oil, and throw it 2-3 slices of ginger. Once aromatic, throw in chopped garlic… once aromatic, throw in the dried chillies, shallots/onions, red bell pepper and stir fry. Once the fragrance exudes, add some shaoxing/huadiao followed by some dark/light soy sauce. Once the wine shows signs of reducing, add in the chicken and stir fry at high heat till the chicken is 60-70% cooked. Put in as much Szechuan pepper as you want here, determines how spicy the dish will be. The chicken should absorb the aroma of the fragrant ingredients. Lastly add in the cashew nuts, chopped spring onions, followed by the scallops. Scallops are put in last because putting it earlier will overpower the scallops’ original taste. While cooking, quickly prepare a small bowl and mix dark soy, light soy, oyster sauce, chinese vinegar, sugar, garlic chili sauce, add a quarter cup of water, and add cornstarch. Mix it up and pour the sauce into the wok. Stir fry till the sauce reduces, then put in a few more splashes of huadiao/shaoxing wine and fry till everything is super hot. Sauce should be dark and thick to go with rice.

Will this really work? We’ll find out soon next week…