This Vegetable Kung Pao is a slightly sweet-sour and spicy Chinese dish made with mix veggies. The recipe is also vegan.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Chinese, World

Ingredients

  • 1 medium carrot (- cut in wedges or batons)
  • 6 to 8 french beans (- cut in 2 inches pieces)
  • 1 to 1.5 cups water, (for steaming)
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 10 to 12 cashews or peanuts
  • 4 to 5 dry red chilies
  • 1 small onion (- thinly sliced)
  • 7 to 8 medium garlic (- thinly sliced)
  • 1 inch ginger (- thinly sliced)
  • 1 medium to bell pepper ((capsicum) - thinly sliced)
  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped celery
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper powder (or white pepper)
  • ½ teaspoon rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
  • ½ tablespoon sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 teaspoon corn starch + 1 tablespoon water (- for corn starch paste)
  • salt as required

Method

preparation for kung pao

  1. Rinse, peel and chop 1 medium carrot in wedges or batons. Also chop 6 to 8 french beans in 2 inches pieces. Keep them in a steamer pan.
  2. Steam till the carrots and french beans are almost cooked.
  3. If using a pressure cooker for steaming, then steam for 1 whistle. For steaming in a pressure cooker, add 1 to 1.5 cups water. Place the french beans and carrots in a steamer bowl or a steel bowl or pan. Do not add any water in the bowl or pan. Steam for 1 whistle on medium flame.
  4. When the carrots and french beans are being steamed, slice 1 medium onion thinly.
  5. Also slice 1 inch ginger and 7 to 8 medium sized garlic thinly. Chop 1 small stem of celery. You should be able to get 2 teaspoon finely chopped celery.
  6. Then thinly slice 1 medium bell pepper (red or green or yellow). Keep aside.

making kung pao vegetables

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil in a pan. Add 10 to 12 cashews or peanuts.
  2. Saute the cashews till they turn golden. Remove and keep aside.
  3. Keep the flame to a low and add 4 to 5 dry red chilies. Saute till the red chilies change color. Red chilies give a smoky flavor. Avoid burning the chilies.
  4. Then add the sliced onions, ginger and garlic. Stir fry on medium flame for 2 minutes.
  5. Then add the sliced bell peppers (capsicum) and finely chopped celery.
  6. Stir fry on medium flame for 3 minutes.
  7. Next add the steamed carrots and french beans. Mix well.
  8. Add 2 teaspoon soy sauce and ½ tablespoon sugar. Mix well.
  9. Add salt as per taste and ½ teaspoon black pepper powder or white pepper. Mix well.
  10. Add 2 cups water. Mix very well. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
  11. Then add corn starch solution. To make corn starch solution, mix 2 teaspoons of corn starch with 1 tbsp water. Then add this solution to the gravy.
  12. Add ½ teaspoon rice vinegar. You can also use white vinegar instead.
  13. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes till the sauce thickens and then add the fried cashews. For a thicker sauce, you can add some more cornstarch.
  14. Serve kung pao with veg fried rice or steamed rice. You can also have with plain steamed noodles or veg noodles.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.