Kung Po Chicken

This is a simple dish to make. According to a recipe that i saw, the secret ingredient to this dish is vinegar in the sauce..yes indeed. It does really complete the kung po flavour - it provides a subtle yet characteristic touch to the dish
Using the same recipe, you can also substitute chicken with others eg. shrimps, squids or clams.
If you prefer a milder version, feel free to reduce the amount of dried chilis used :)

Ingredients

2 pieces chicken breast/thigh, diced (marinate with 2 tsp soya sauce & dash of sesame oil)

1 medium onion, cut into wedges

10-12 dried chilis, soaked

handful of cashew nuts, roasted

2 pieces of ginger

5 pieces of garlic, minced

Seasoning

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp dark soya sauce

1 tsp light soya sauce

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp sugar

pinch of salt & pepper

1 tsp cornstarch

2 tbsp water

1. Cut chicken into small pieces and marinate with the ingredients above.

2.Mix the seasoning in a bowl and set aside.

3. Heat up oil in a wok and add in ginger, garlic and dried chilis.

4. Stir fry until fragrant and they smell spicy, add in chicken meat.

5. Continue stir fry for a few minutes before adding roasted cashew nuts.

6. Add in the seasoning and fry until the chicken meat is well coated with the sauce and well cooked.

7. Dish up and serve with steam rice.

Pan fried chicken breast with mushroom ragout linguine topped with arugula leaves

This dish is my own creation. I made this from scratch without referring to any recipes *proud*
It looks good and it taste even better ;)

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 pcs chicken breast

Marinade:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp of light soya sauce
dash of worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp paprika
dried oregano (optional)
dried rosemary (optional)

Mushroom ragout:
1 pkt fresh button mushroom, sliced
1 tbsp butter
3-4 garlic, minced
dried oregano
pinch of sugar
salt & pepper
150ml milk
1 tsp cornstarch (mix with 2 tbps water)

1 pkt arugula (rocket)
2 portions of linguine, cooked al dente

1. Marinate the chicken breast and leave aside for 15-20 mins.
2. Heat up a pan, pan fried the chicken breast 3mins on each side or until cooked. Chicken breast can be cooked easily, it only takes a couple of minutes. To check if it's fully cooked, poke a skewer in the centre, if it goes right through easily, then the chicken is cooked.
3. Dish up and set aside.
4. To make the mushroom ragout, melt butter in a pan and add in garlic. Saute the garlic until fragrant, add in mushroom with all the dried herbs and seasoning.
5. When it's almost cooked, pour in milk and stir well until gravy thickens. Add in cornstarch if need to thicken the gravy.
6. To plate the dish, place linguine on the plate and topped with mushroom. Cut chicken breast into big pieces and arrange them on top of the mushroom. Finally, topped with a handful of arugula leaves.

*Note:
Ragout is a french word, it means stew. The basic method of preparation involves cooking over low heat.
Al dente is an italian word describing pasta that has been cooked so as to be firm but not hard. It is often considered the ideal form of cooked pasta.