Food Truck – Scott A. Keen

Kung Pew-Pew-Pew Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken is the bane of my culinary existence. It’s so much more than chicken, peanuts, chili peppers, and some brown sauce. I have made a dozen versions of this and none of them have been a home run worthy to be called Kung POW chicken, so then Kung pew-pew-pew chicken it is. Mine is good, but I’m on a quest to make it better. My gold standard for Kung Pao Chicken is at Peking Gourmet Inn.

Kung Pao Chicken
Chicken, Chili peppers, Szechuan peppercorns, Garlic, Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, Sugar, Shao Xing wine, Green onion, Peanuts

Ah-doh-doh-boh, Ah-doh-doh-bah, Is All I Want To Say To You

I’m half-Filipino and I think I would be in BIG trouble if I didn’t make a Pork Adobo and Garlic Fried Rice dish, so here it is. How much garlic goes into this? Just a little bit more.

Filipino Pork Adobo and Garlic Fried Rice
Pork, Garlic, Soy sauce, Garlic, Apple cider vinegar, Garlic, Maggi, Garlic, Black pepper, Garlic, Bay leaf, Garlic, Sugar, oh, and some garlic. Oh, ok, one more piece of garlic.
Any garlic you have left over (is there such a thing?), stir fry with some rice and salt.

Thai Pork Rama (-Lama-Ding-Dong)

For some reason I have to listen to the 50’s song “Rama Lama Ding Dong” and put American Graffiti on the TV when I’m making Thai Pork Rama (-Lama-Ding-Dong). But somehow I don’t think they served this at Mel’s Drive-In.

Thai Pork Rama (-Lama-Ding-Dong, see I did it again)
Pork in Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
Pork, Coconut milk, Peanut butter, Garlic, Sriracha (-cha-cha-cha), Fish sauce, Soy sauce, Sugar

Shu Mai, ♫ Don’t Bother Me ♫ Shu Mai, ♫ Don’t Bother Me

Dim Sum anyone? Made these from scratch, the wrappers too.
For something that has so few ingredients, the wrappers are sure a lot of work! Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, keep your dim sum rollin’…

Dumpling Wrappers (won ton, dumpling, etc):
Flour, Water, Salt

Shu Mai (Siu Mai) Dumpling Filling:
Pork, Egg, Green onion, Garlic, Soy sauce, White pepper, Sesame oil

Next time, I would chop up some shrimp and use 50/50 shrimp and pork. That would be better.

General Tscott’s Chicken and Egg Drop Soup

General Tscott’s Chicken and Egg Drop Soup
I had a need — yes, a need — for General Tso’s Chicken and Egg Drop Soup. Rather than mess around with speedy take-out, I decided to spend the last hour of my life making it from scratch!

Egg Drop Soup
Really easy — Boil chicken stock (water and chicken powder) with chopped green onion, add a corn starch slurry and simmer until thickened. Stir in beaten eggs and sprinkle with white pepper. Stir frequently.

General Tso’s Chicken
Batter chicken with egg, cornstarch, and flour. Deep fry. Set aside. Then deep fry again to make it crispy. Set aside.
The sauce is made from soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, corn starch, water, and Chinese black vinegar. Pour it into a hot wok and keep stirring until it becomes a thick syrup, then toss in the fried chicken.

If that’s too much trouble, go get it from the Chinese take out place and spend your time doing something more productive.