This afternoon I took a shot at a kung pao recipe from Everybody Likes Sandwiches, with fabulous results, I must say. Yum! In the future, I should learn to halve the recipes — it’s enough for two people to eat leftovers for a few days — or perhaps invite a few folks over for dinner.

This cooking thing is still a new adventure for me, and thus requires picking up most recipe items from the grocery store. But slowly I am stocking my kitchen with the basics, and will hopefully be able to whip recipes up based on what I already have!

Enjoy!

kung pao vegetables (+ tofu + udon)
1 t sesame oil
1 T canola oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 small head of broccoli, broken into florets
2 carrots, sliced on the diagonal
1 rib of celery, sliced on the diagonal
1 small packet of prepared udon noodles
1/2 block tofu, cubed
1/4 c peanuts, chopped

sauce:
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c orange juice
1 T cider vinegar
1 T ginger, minced
1 T chili paste or asian hot sauce (the one with the rooster on the bottle)
1 T brown sugar
1 T bottled peanut sauce
1 T cornstarch

1. Mix sauce ingredients in and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet. Add onion and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add carrots, celery and broccoli and stirfry until crisp-tender. Add the sauce and the udon noodles and combine well so everything gets saucy.

3. In a separate pan, fry up tofu in a bit of oil until brown on all sides. Add tofu and peanuts to the vegetable mixture, stirring gently to coat with sauce. Serve in deep bowls.