Spicy Chinese style Stir Fry and "Kung Fu Panda"

One of my favorite things to eat is General Tso's Chicken at the Chinese buffet. Sweet and spicy sauce over top fresh white rice and perfectly steamed vegetables is a killer combination. Chinese take out gets expensive and lets face it, it's not the best thing in the world for us to eat. Plus, being out in the country where I am it's not as quick and easy as others just to dial up a near by Chinese take out place and order my usual. So with a little research and trial an error, I came up with my own recipe for that style of chicken that I love so much. I sauté my chicken rather than deep fry to save some calories but trust me I'm not skimping on flavor. Here's how to make great Chinese food in your own kitchen.

Serves 4
Vegetable oil
4 boneless/skinless chicken breast cut into strips (or boneless/skinless thighs if you prefer)
2 crowns of broccoli (cut into pieces)
1 8oz bag of Sugar snap peas
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 red bell pepper (sliced)
1 large shallot (sliced)
3 carrots (cut into thin strips)
3 scallions (finely chopped) 

For the Sauce
½ cup of Soy sauce

½ cup of brown Sugar

½ tablespoon of freshly grated ginger

3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar 

1 to 2 tablespoons of sriracha hot chili paste

3 teaspoons of cornstarch

White rice (Read instructions on rice package to make enough for 4)

First, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and fill a large bowl full of ice water so that we can blanch the broccoli and the sugar snap pears. Next, prepare all of the vegetables by washing and cutting to the recipes specifications.

Blanch the broccoli and the peas separately by submerging them in the boiling water. About 4 minutes for the peas and closer to 6 minutes for the broccoli. Once the vegetables are blanched, quickly shock them in the ice water, drain them, and set aside with the other vegetables.

To make the sauce for our stir fry, combine all of the ingredients and whisk over low heat until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside. The sauce will have a deep red color to it and be fairly thick. At this point, prepare the rice as suggested by the instructions on the packaging.

In the largest skillet you have, coat the bottom of the pan with a vegetable oil and heat over medium high heat. Season the cut chicken strips with salt and pepper and fry in the hot oil until browned. Once the chicken is cooked, all at once add the vegetables and stir together. Stir often during the process to ensure nothing sticks and everything gets cooked evenly. I like to cook my vegetables until they are just slightly tender but are still crisp. Finally, add the sauce to the skillet and stir everything together so that there is an even coating. Serve over top the fresh white rice and garnish with chopped scallions and sesame seeds.

"Kung Fu Panda" was yet another successful computer animated film brought to us by dreamworks pictures. Po the Panda (voiced by Jack Black) dreams of being a master of Kung Fu and fighting along side China's fiercest Kung Fu warriors known as the fearsome five (The Tigress, The Crane, The Monkey, The Viper, and The Mantis). Po however knows not a single move of Kung Fu and instead spends his days working at his fathers noodle stand serving the residents of The valley of peace bowls of noodle soup. However, a vision comes to the master of Kung Fu master Oogway that the legendary Dragon warrior would soon appear to protect the land form the evil and powerful snow leopard Tai Lung. A festival is called so that Shifu (Voiced by Dustin Hoffman) and his students, the fearsome five, may demonstrate their skills to Oogway to show if one of them is the dragon warrior they've been searching for. While attempting to catch a glimpse of the famed Kung Fu masters, Po soon finds himself at the center of attention when Oogway claims that Po is the dragon warrior.

Shifu feels that his master has made a mistake and plans to prove this by putting the overweight and novice fighter Po through such a rigourus training that Po will soon quit. When news arrives to the valley that Tai Lung has escaped from his prison and is returning home to claim the legendary dragon scroll he feels is rightfully his. Shifu, Po, and the Fearsome five will have to work together and fill their destiny's if they wish the save their home from the powerful and evil claws of Tai Lung. Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, and Ian McShane all lend their talents to voice characters in "Kung Fu Panda". Some of you might overlook this film because of it's aim towards the younger audience but to you I say, "Don't be so serious!" We all need some light hearted, fun, and childlike adventure in our busy lives these days. "Kung Fu Panda" is a great film for people of all ages. Click here for a quick look at the film.