Hunan Chicken and Vegetables

The owner of the Chinese restaurant in our town was nice enough to show me how to make his Hunan chicken (my favorite!) when they sold the restaurant in December, 2012. He used a wok over a huge gas flame in his restaurant kitchen and whipped this up in about 3 minutes! We home cooks have to make do with a saute pan, and a home stove won't cook nearly as fast as his wok on a flame.

• Preparation Time: 25 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 35 mins
• Calories: 409 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• ½ cup baby corn, drained
• ½ cup sliced bamboo shoots, drained
• ½ cup vegetable oil, or as needed
• 2 cups warm cooked rice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce, or more to taste
• ½ cup sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 6 peppers dried red pepper pods
• 2 teaspoons chile oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons jarred minced garlic
• 1 ½ cups Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, raw
• ½ cup carrot strips
• ½ cup coarsely chopped onion

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Mix pepper pods, soy sauce, green onion, hoisin sauce, chile oil, garlic, sugar, ginger, and salt for sauce together in a bowl; set aside.

Step 2

Heat about 1 inch vegetable oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken; stir and saute until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and set on a plate. Pour hot oil into a container and discard when cool.

Step 3

Add water to the wok and bring to a boil. Add carrots, bell pepper, onion, corn, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots; cook and stir for about 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Pour out and discard any remaining water.

Step 4

Pour the reserved sauce into the wok. Stir and heat over medium heat. Add chicken and vegetables to the sauce; stir until well coated. Remove pepper pods and serve over cooked rice.