Mount Hunger Kung Pao (Mount Kunger Pao?)

Mildred (my little Kung Pao Kutie Pie) just looked over my shoulder and groaned. "It is not Mount Kunger Pao!"

Well, if it's not that, it is, at the very least, Americanized Kung Pao, given the fact that it has peanut butter in it instead of just peanuts and that we here on Mount Hunger add additional sugar, to taste. These are both very American things to do-- take a perfectly good dish, add peanut butter and sugar, and call it good. It's also taken most exotic ingredients away, leaving behind the spicy-sweet flavor combination.

Lest you be put off by this introduction, let me assure you that it is good! I'm posting this recipe in response to a couple of requests for it, so let that give you the confidence to someday try it yourself.

It's a rare dish around these parts, reserved for times when we're craving it. Guess who's craving it right now?

(Mount) Kung(er) Pao

We very loosely follow this recipe, but here's our country bumpkin version. We usually double the amounts and sometimes also increase the sauce if it doesn't seem like enough (though it should be, we are still sometimes greedy for more).

• - 8 oz. uncooked noodles of your choice (We usually use regular pasta, but rice noodles are both customary and more delicious)
  -  2 to 3 tablespoons oil
• -  1 to 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• - 1 large onion, diced
• - 1 tbsp. freshly pressed garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
  -  a couple cups of broccoli, cooked and drained (add in any vegetables you like-- peppers are usual-- but we use broccoli)
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KUNG PAO SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

• - 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• - 1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy is best, because it already contains peanut pieces)
• - 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• - 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• - 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• - brown sugar, to taste (we prefer a sweet-spicy kung pao, so we use more than we should)
• - 1 tablespoon (or more) cornstarch dissolved in a bit of cold water
• - ground cayenne or red pepper flakes, to taste (I prefer flakes; just remember that the longer the food sits, the more heat the flakes will release)
  
  
• - additional peanut butter, to taste
  
  - toppings, if desired: chopped, toasted peanuts and/or sesame seeds

Directions:

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  1.  Make Kung Pao sauce by combining all ingredients except cornstarch together over medium-low heat until combined. Add cornstarch and cook until thickened slightly. Add more peanut butter, brown sugar, and cayenne/red pepper flakes, to taste, and set aside. (I like mine with quite a bit of sweet and heat.)
  
  
• 2.  Cook and drain broccoli, set it aside, and then start boiling pasta. Cook pasta until al dente, toss with a bit of oil, and set aside.
  
  
• 3.  Cook chicken and onion in oil over medium heat until done, then add pressed garlic and cook until fragrant, about thirty seconds to one minute. Combine broccoli, chicken mixture, and sauce. Either toss sauce/chicken mixture with the cooked pasta or top pasta with the mixture. 
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• This dish is good hot, lukewarm, or even cold. If you want it hot, lightly heat all ingredients together in a pot, while stirring, until heated through.
  
  If desired, top with chopped peanuts or sesame seeds.

Curried Pumpkin Soup with Chicken

 

(*To note: This picture actually shows curried butternut-pumpkin soup. This recipe will make a more orange soup. Close enough.)

A recipe of sorts, based on this. Makes a big ol' pot of delicious soup! The amounts given are loose, and I always add more spices, to taste, as I'm making it. I highly recommend tasting frequently as you cook. That's how I maintain this robust figure! :)

We have enough pumpkins for perhaps one more pot. I will miss it when they are gone, and will probably make it using butternut squash, instead.

Curried Pumpkin Soup with Chicken

-6 small New England sugar pie pumpkins, halved, de-seeded, and roasted until flesh is tender

-a stick of butter

-3 onions, finely chopped

-a large head of garlic (a full head, not one clove), pressed

-2 tbsp. yellow curry powder, more to taste

-1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg, more to taste

-a couple of tablespoons freshly minced ginger

-1/2 tsp. ground cayenne (optional), to taste

-1 tsp. salt, to taste

-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

-6 cups chicken bone broth (or stock/broth)

-1 can full-fat coconut milk

-additional cow's milk or cream, as needed

-several pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into very thin strips

-chopped cilantro, if desired

-pumpkin seeds for garnish, if desired, either toasted from the pumpkins or green pepitas given to you by your mother-in-law :)

Directions:

1. Scoop the cooked pumpkin flesh out of shells and puree in batches in the blender with enough of the bone broth and/or coconut milk to help blend evenly. Place in a pot and stir in the remainder of the broth and coconut milk. Add additional cow's milk or cream until you reach the desired consistency. 

2. Saute the chopped onions in the butter over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add the minced ginger and pressed garlic until fragrant. Add to pot with pumpkin puree.

3. Add remainder of ingredients (except pumpkin seeds) to pot and heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through.

If desired, add pumpkin seeds for garnish.

Glow-in-the-Dark Turmeric & Coconut Fish Curry

 

Seriously, that fluorescent yellow around the edges of the bowl is not a trick of the camera!

Here's another recipe based on someone else's concoction, with the specialty ingredients omitted.
This is more of a sweet curry than a spicy one, and it's the perfect winter comfort food, only healthier than most.  I usually top it with a sprinkle of cayenne to add a little heat.

We double the following, and it serves our family of 12.

Ingredients:

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• -1 lb. mild white fish (we use tilapia)
  -1 onion
  -2 tbsp olive oil
• -4 garlic cloves, or more, pressed
• -1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• -lime juice, to taste
• -1 can full-fat coconut milk

-1 cup chicken stock/broth

-ground cardamom, to taste (if desired)

• -1/4 tsp cloves, ground
  -2 tsp ground coriander
• -1 tbsp ground Turmeric, or to taste (we buy it in bulk and just dump a bunch in until it tastes good
• -1 tsp. ground cumin
  -fresh cilantro (we use fresh, frozen, chopped from summertime)
  
  

-Basmati or white rice (we cook four cups dry for 12, so 2 cups dry should be enough to easily serve six)

Directions:

1. Saute chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add grated ginger and pressed garlic and saute for about one minute until fragrant.

2. Add lime juice, coconut milk, chicken stock, and spices, and cook until heated through. Add thawed fish and cook until done. Once fish is cooked (this will not take long), break into chunks with a spoon and then add in the fresh (or frozen) cilantro.

3. Serve over rice.

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Romantic Thai Red Curry (19!)

 

I'll try to get an appetizing shot next time we make this, but for now, a split-second shot of the last bowl.

Millie first made this for John's and my 19th anniversary meal (nineteen years...wahoo!). She's heard me rave about Thai red curry since John took me to a Thai restaurant several years ago, and now there's no need to go to restaurants!

We loosely follow the recipe found here but omit a few of the rarest ingredients, making this a definite splurge meal but not so excessive that we can't still make payments on our house, which is just the right balance for a nineteenth anniversary. We omit the butternut/pumpkin and green beans to streamline it, substitute lime juice for the kaffir lime leaves, and regular basil for the Thai basil. I'm guessing our version is a greatly dressed down version of Thai Red Curry, but it's doable, and it tastes close enough to the restaurant version to make me swoon and eat it for three meals running.

We double or triple these amounts, but I'm putting in the original amounts with our alterations. Most of the children like the rice/curry ratio to heavily favor the rice. I'm the opposite and eat the curry as a soup with just a small amount of rice mixed in. Slurping is encouraged.

Red Curry Paste

-one can of Maesri Thai Red Curry paste (the cheapest, and, according to the recipe's author, the best!) *USE LESS IF YOU DON'T LIKE HEAT. The author recommends 5-6 tbsp. or less, to taste. We use the whole can, which makes me happy and most children unhappy.

-2 large garlic cloves, minced
-2 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
-1 tbsp. lemongrass paste (found a tube in Walmart's refrigerator section, and it lasts for several big curry batches)


Thai Red Curry

- 1 cup chicken broth/stock
-14 oz. full-fat coconut milk
-a splash or two of lime juice, to taste
-1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. or so chopped basil, if desired (we just dump in a bit of chopped, frozen, garden basil, to taste)
-2 tsp. fish sauce, plus more to taste (one bottle will stretch a looong way in curries)
-boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into very thin slices-- as much or as little chicken as you want. More is better. :)

Jasmine rice, cooked

Cilantro leaves, for garnish


DIRECTIONS

• Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add canned curry paste, garlic, ginger, and lemongrass paste and cook for about 2 minutes so it "dries out." 
• Add chicken broth and stir to dissolve paste. Simmer rapidly for 3 minutes or until liquid reduces by half.
• Add coconut milk, lime juice, sugar, basil, and fish sauce. Stir, then bring to a simmer and turn heat down to medium. Cook until sauce is almost the thickness you want, and then add sliced chicken. Cook for several more minutes until chicken is cooked through. 
• Taste curry and add more fish sauce for saltiness, as needed, and/or more sugar for sweetness.
• Serve over jasmine rice, garnished with cilantro leaves, if desired.