Review - Portobello Kung Pao

[HomeCulinarian]

Trying to ease off of all the heavy holiday meals and get back on track for at least one vegetarian meal a week, we tried the Portobello Kung Pao from Weeknight Menus I last night. It also gave me a chance to use the new small wok I got for Christmas. I followed the recipe exactly, even using the full 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Served it with the suggested sesame udon noodles. Served it in pasta bowls and there is plenty of tasty sauce that requires a spoon! It was an excellent flavor combination, easy and quick to make.

[pjcooks]

Thanks for reviewing this! Definately on the list to do sometime soon, I'm glad to hear the red pepper flakes worked out.

Lucky you, a new wok-I have a big heavy Meyers (many years old) that works nicely, but it is big and cumbersome, takes a lot of storage space.

Hummm....


PJ

[cjs]

thanks for the review - I do have that page dog-eared.

[HomeCulinarian]

I have a large wok, too, that is a hassle to use, clean and store. Hubby bought me a 12" one for Christmas. He loves stir fry and this one will be much easier to work with.

[labradors]

I love my 16" real (i.e. not non-stick, not electric, and not flattened out to work on electric stoves) wok, especially since I have a gas stove, here. It only cost $9.95 at a restaurant-supply store in Florida, and was one of the things I made sure to bring with me when I came to Honduras.

This sounds like an interesting recipe, but I rarely see fresh portobello mushrooms here. Jarred, marinated portobellos are available, but they probably wouldn't blend well with something Kung Pao. How big a quantity does this make? Half a teaspoon of red pepper flakes doesn't sound like much in my book, especially for Kung Pao.

Are the portobellos the primary ingredient (i.e. in place of a meat), or is some kind of meat also included? Maybe I could not worry about trying to be 100% true to the recipe, and try this with chicken, instead.

[HomeCulinarian]

I wish I had a gas cooktop, but I don't. My new gas grill doesn't have the burners, so we use the flat bottom wok on a ceramic cooktop. Also, I'm a wimp with the red pepper flakes and usually cut the amount by half. I figure you can add heat (and salt) but you can't subtract it. The recipe commentary says add more heat to taste by adding peppers or more red pepper flakes.

I'll go add it to MC and then post the recipe for you.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Portobello Kung Pao

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Main Dish

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2/3 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 tablespoons fresh ginger -- minced
1 tablespoon garlic -- minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups portobello mushroom -- gilled, sliced into 3" pieces
2 cups asparagus tips -- cut into 2" pieces
1/2 cup water
1 cup scallion -- cut in 2" pieces
1 cup cherry tomato -- halved
1/2 cup cashew -- pieces or halves

Whisk together sauce ingredients: broth, soy sauce, sherry, balsamic,
sugar. Whisk into cornstarch until dissolved; set aside. Prepare
vegetables.

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over high. Add ginger, garlic, and
pepper flakes; stir-fry 20-30 seconds. Add mushrooms and asparagus and
stir-fry 1 minute. Add water, cover, and steam 2 minutes. Uncover and
stir in sauce mixture. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, or until
thickened.

Add tomatoes and scallions. Garnish each serving with cashews. Serve
immediately with Sesame Noodles.

Source:
"Cuisine at Home Weeknight Menus"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 247 Calories; 13g Fat (43.7%
calories from fat); 9g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; trace
Cholesterol; 1318mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 3
Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


* Exported from MasterCook *

Sesame Noodles

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 cups hot water
2 packages fresh udon noodles -- 7 oz each
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro -- chopped
salt and pepper

Combine water and noodles in a blowl. Cover and let stand 3 minutes;
drain.

Heat oil in a large skillet over high. Stir-fry noodles for 1 minute.

Finish with sesame oil. Toss with cilantro, salt and pepper

Source:
"Cuisine at Home Weeknight Menus"
Yield:
"3 cups"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 150 Calories; 17g Fat (99.9%
calories from fat); trace Protein; trace Carbohydrate; trace Dietary
Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 6mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 1/2 Fat.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0

[labradors]

Thank you VERY much for this recipe. No doubt, as mentioned earlier, I'll have to modify it outside of its original intent, but this will give me a great starting point.

Quote:

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I wish I had a gas cooktop, but I don't. My new gas grill doesn't have the burners, so we use the flat bottom wok on a ceramic cooktop.

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One thing that worked out well for me when I got this apartment, was that it was not furnished, so I had to buy my own furniture and appliances. Because of that, I wasn't trapped into using an electric range, but got one that uses LP gas. It works very well, and I'm so much happier with it, although I do have to keep track of when I could run out of gas. If I do, though, there are a couple of places that will deliver a full canister directly to your home, hook it up, and take the empty back with them. They're 25-pound canisters, and the refill costs $10, with no charge for the delivery. One more cultural note: the deliveries are done by guys on motorcycles that have special racks on the back that will hold two canisters.

Quote:

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Also, I'm a wimp with the red pepper flakes and usually cut the amount by half.

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Just the opposite, here: I'm an addict. I'll START with the amount the recipe specifies, but can sometimes wind up with DOUBLE the original amount. With the flakes, though, it's slightly different, since I'm not as big a fan of the flakes, so I substitute cayenne, instead.