As you can imagine, kung pao chicken, a dish with just chicken pieces, chilis, peanuts, and sauce, never made it onto our dinner plate when we ate out. Of course, when Mama Lin says, “it’s so easy, I can make it at home,” it actually means “it’s so easy, why make it at home?” That’s just typical of mothers, isn’t it? When I finally tasted kung pao chicken in Nanjing, I was hooked immediately. That sugar and spicy sauce mixed with freshly toasted peanuts is an addictive combination. It’s just one of those dishes that even a hole-in-the-wall restaurant couldn’t mess up. Thank goodness for that. Kung pao chicken got me through so many lunches and dinners in China that I have a fondness for them now. My love runs so deep that I decided to add them to my nachos.
