Vegetable Kung Pao

My love affair with Vegetable Kung Pao is a real thing. A craving like no other and the greatest thing about this recipe is the ability to shift and change to suit your mood or appetite. Maybe you want some extra spice, or perhaps there are some Gardein Chick’n nuggets on hand and want the full fast food experience. As you can see, Vegetable Kung Pao is a generous companion, fulfilling your needs, balancing sweet, salty, and Sichuan pepper with their unique spiciness and tons of texture that comes from peanuts and vegetables.
WHAT YOU NEED…
How To Make Vegetable Kung Pao









How To Make Vegan “Oyster” Sauce


Finishing Vegetable Kung Pao







Chefs Tips
The key to this dish is taking the time to cook each step to perfection, this will ensure that each ingredient is seasoned, the texture is maintained and the sum of all the parts comes together to create one great dish.
Substitutions
Parsnips are great in this recipe, but if you are not in the mood, you can use diced tofu baked in the oven. Vegan Chicken nuggets are always fun in this recipe. Sichuan Peppercorns: Sichuan is the region where the dish originated, but if you can’t find them or don’t want to buy them, we have two options. The first is to add crushed red chili flakes, add according to your spice level. The second is to black pepper that is freshly cracked.

Vegetable Kung Pao
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 585kcal
My love affair with Vegetable Kung Pao is a real thing. A craving like no other and the greatest thing about this recipe is the ability to shift and change to suit your mood or appetite. Maybe you want some extra spice, or perhaps there are some Gardein Chick’n nuggets on hand and you want the full fast food experience. As you can see, Vegetable Kung Pao is a generous companion, fulfilling your needs, balancing sweet, salty, and Sichuan pepper with their unique spiciness and tons of texture comes from peanuts and vegetables.
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Parsnip Crispy ” Chikn”
- 3 parsnips medium-sized
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp black vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
- ½ cup Cornstarch
- coconut oil
Vegan Oyster Sauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 Tbsp kelp granules
- 1 cup parsnip poaching liquid
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
How to Make Parsnip “Chicken “
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Peel and cut the parsnip in half length-wise. Remove the core from the parsnip.
- In a large pot over low heat combine the water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, black vinegar, and poultry seasoning. Bring the poaching liquid to a boil, add the parsnip, and cover with a lid reduce to a low simmer.
- Cook the parsnip until very tender, cooking for roughly 30 minutes. Remove from the poaching liquid.
- Place the parsnip on a cooling rack placed on a baking sheet. Bake the parsnips in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Allow the parsnip to cool.
- Cut the parsnips in half on the bias, creating a long triangle shapes.
How to Make Vegan Oyster Sauce
- Gently heat the extra virgin olive oil over low heat, and add the kelp granules. Continue to cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the parsnip cooking liquid, and cook for 2 more minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the water and cornstarch together, creating a slurry.
- Whisk the slurry into the soy sauce mixture.
- Cook over medium heat until thick and the sauce has produced a few bubbles.
- Set aside.
How to Make Kung Pao
- This is a multiple-step process, It takes a few more minutes but the final dish retains so much flavor and textures.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat, add the peanuts, cooking and stirring until golden amber in color. Remove the peanuts with a strainer or slotted spoon. Try to retain as much of the oil in the pan as possible.
- Increase the heat to high, add the scallions, cooking for 30-60 seconds. The scallions should be lightly blistered, yet maintain some crunchy texture. So cooking over high heat is key.
- Remove the scallions from the pan. Trying to leave as much oil in the pan as possible. Set aside.
- Add additional oil to the pan.
- Cook the parsnips until a deep brown on the edges and light golden brown in the middle. The key is to monitor the parsnips, flipping ensuring that all sides are crispy and delicious.
- You might need to little more oil, another 2 Tbsp should be just perfect.
- Add the chopped ginger, garlic, and bell peppers, stirring until light brown.
- Add the chopped dried chili peppers, and saute for 10 seconds, just enough to toast the peppers.
- Add the Sichuan peppers, and continue to stir and agitate the mixture, cooking for 1 minute.
- Reduce the heat to low, add the vegan oyster sauce, stirring to coat all of the vegetables.
- If the sauce is too thick you can make adjustments with soy sauce or water.
- Add the scallions and the peanuts.
- Place the Kung Pao on a platter and serve with steamed rice.
Notes
Nutritional values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 585kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 1750mg | Potassium: 888mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 1196IU | Vitamin C: 66mg | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 4mg