Kung Pao Chicken Wontons with Peanut Butter and Jelly

Back when I was in law school, there was no such thing as a foodie – at least not in Lubbock, Texas. People who spent too much time thinking about food were called obsessed. Or persnickety. Or just plain odd. But whatever those kind of people were called, I was one of them. I spent a good chunk of every day planning what I was going to eat – Cajun chicken fettuccine at Jazz, shredded beef enchiladas at Raul’s, a perfectly cooked steak at Chez Suzette (yes, we had a French restaurant in Lubbock. One French restaurant.) The problem with my planning, though, was that I wasn’t in any position, financially or time-wise, to indulge in too many of my food dreams (not that I didn’t scarf down my share of gooey fettuccine and shredded beef enchiladas). I was a law student, short on money and time.

I ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly. Like every-single-day a lot.

Fast forward to Los Angeles, now. Besides great weather, beautiful beaches and silicone, LA is known for its fantastic Asian food. If I had gone to an Asian restaurant every day that I’ve been here for the last four years, and continued going for the next year, I still don’t think I could eat at all of them. Which, frankly, makes me kind of sad when I think about it.

But I’m still a person who likes me some PB&J. I probably eat a sandwich of it once a week, and I always eat more than my share from the aid station tables in races. (Yes, I’m that woman running out of the aid station looking like she just robbed a convenience store. Don’t judge.) I think peanut butter and jelly are a combination made in comfort food heaven.

A couple of days ago, when I was out for a run, I started thinking about what I was going to have for lunch (Admit it, you do this, too.) I couldn’t decide if I wanted to go out for Kung Pao Chicken or just make myself a PB&J. I really wanted them both. I wanted the spicy peanutty goodness of the Kung Pao, but I also wanted the sweetness of the jelly. Basically, I wanted it all. But in one meal. I will conquer this food dilemma! I shouted in my head (In my head, this was said in my best Queen of the Universe voice.).

Now, the beauty of thinking about anything while you’re running is that once the endorphins kick in, you are pretty much convinced you can do anything, and that everything you come up with is brilliant – kind of like you are Mick Jagger mixed with Steven Hawking. So, before my runners’ high dissipated, I stopped at the store and bought all the ingredients to make my new creation.

And then I came down from my runners’ high. What was I thinking? How was this going to work exactly? Kung Pao Chicken and Peanut Butter and Jelly? Say wha’?

I made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and thought about it.

I wanted all the components of Kung Pao Chicken – heat, peanuttiness, savoriness, did I say heat? – AND PB&J – crunchy, sweet, jammy – but I needed to use them in a way that made sense, not gross out everyone I served it to – or tried to serve it to. And then it hit me – Wontons. Everyone loves wontons. Wontons are deep fried presents of surprise yumminess – assuming you get them right – that you get to dip into more surprise yumminess. Yay! I would make Kung Pao for the wonton stuffing, but I would transform the peanut and chile components of the traditional dish into the PB&J dipping sauces.

I went back to the store for the wonton wrappers. I marinated and cooked my chicken. I chopped and diced my vegetables. I mixed everything together. Then I had to make the wontons, something I’d never done before. I stuffed them too full. They wouldn’t close. I started again, and then…

I had a lot of wontons.

I thought about naming them Runners’ High Wontons, but in this day and age, that could have all kinds of negative implications, so I’m just calling them Kung Pao Wontons.

Bossy Notes:

1. Don’t be tempted to use store-bought peanut dipping sauce. Most contain soy sauce and/or vinegar, which will just compete with the chicken filling. Because the chicken is cooked in the marinade, you don’t need to add anymore salty flavors to your sauce.

2. The recipe calls for chunky peanut butter because Kung Pao Chicken uses whole peanuts. Traditional peanut sauces use smooth peanut butter. Don’t give in.

3. When frying the wontons, your life will be so much easier (and better protected) if you use a thermometer. Keeping oil at a constant temperature requires a lot of fiddling with the flame. Adding cold food to hot oil changes the temperature, so you need to pay close attention to what the thermometer says. I used to “wing it”, but after a couple of flaming pans on the stove, I decided I was not Julia Child and should invest in a thermometer. It’s been well worth it.

4. If possible, use chicken tenders. Because they are smaller, there is a better “surface to marinade” ratio. This will ensure your filling is very flavorful

 

Kung Pao Chicken Wontons with Peanut Butter and Jelly

1 pound chicken tenders

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp. rice vinegar

2 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbsp. sesame oil

2 cloves chopped garlic

2 tsp. chopped ginger

1 tsp. sesame seeds

2 scallions, chopped

1 carrot, shredded

1 package wonton wrappers

vegetable oil for frying (enough to fill 3 inches from the bottom of a heavy pan or dutch oven)

small bowl of water for dipping fingers

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the marinade: combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and sesame seeds. Coat the chicken tenders in the marinade for 15 minutes. Place the chicken tenders AND marinade into a baking dish and cover with foil. Cook for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Reserving the cooked marinade, remove the chicken and finely dice. Combine the chicken, scallions, carrot and the reserved marinade (only use the marinade that has cooked in the oven with the chicken).

Making the wontons: In the center of a wonton square, place 1 Tbsp. of chicken filling. Dip a finger in the small bowl of water and wet two lengths of the wonton square (this will help seal the dough). Gently fold the square into triangle, sealing up the two open sides.

Fry in hot oil until brown on both sides.

 

Dipping Sauces

“Jelly” Sauce, click here. (See, I told you it could be used for almost anything.)

Peanut Sauce

Mix 4 Tbsp. chunky peanut butter with 4 Tbsp. honey. Stir until well combined.

 

Now, dip the wontons in a little peanut butter sauce, then a little chile jam, and enjoy!

 

Tagged as: Cooking, Crispy Chicken Wontons, Kung Pao Chicken, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Running, wontons