Kung Pao Spaghetti

This perfect Marco Polo dish, a fusion of Italian and Chinese cuisines, seems to have been invented by California Pizza Kitchen. I had this at their restaurant and found it to be so good I wanted to make it at home.


It's simple to prep the several ingredients ahead of time, and just do the final cooking when you are ready for the meal. I love the spicy flavors combined with the classic thick spaghetti noodles, and the crunch that the peanuts provide.

Ingredients
1 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons corn starch
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 - 3/4 cup raw peanuts
2 green onions, thinly sliced

For the sauce:
2/3 cups light soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry sherry or white wine
1 tablespoon red chili paste with garlic, or more, to taste
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes. Season chicken breasts with a mixture of corn starch, salt and pepper by sprinkling the mixture over the chicken and turning and doing the other side in a similar fashion. We are not attempting to 'bread' the chicken, just help it crisp up a bit when cooking. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken to skillet and cook until cooked through and lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add the raw peanuts to the skillet with a little salt, and stirring constantly cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain well.

Reheat skillet and add garlic and white portions of green onion and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in pasta, cooked chicken and cooked peanuts.

Plate and top with the chopped green upper stems of the green onions and serve.

Comments