One thing that I have learnt over the years is to have a good number of go to slow cooker meals that can give you a break when you’re going to have a long day. One of my now favourites is my vegan slow cooker Kung Pao that I did for us the other day when I knew that we’d be out for a long time and need something substantial and tasty for when we got home.
We are so lucky living near a huge Chinese Supermarket (Wing Yip on Oldham Street in Manchester) and also near to China Town too. There are so many vegetarian and vegan meat alternatives that have been made using soya beans. They are even Vegetarian Society Approved too.
We discovered the products years ago during one of our supermarket adventures and have never looked back. They have given me the flexibility to cook some of our favourite dishes without having to have meat in them. They don’t really mimic meat so much, they just bring another texture and something to absorb the amazing flavours in the dishes. (Plus, it can save me having to make some seitan myself, which speeds up mid-week dinners)
Kung Pao
King Pao is a Chinese recipe, traditionally stir-fry stylee, made with chcken, peppers, chilli and vegetables. In my version or the slow cooker, it is made with TKC ‘Chicken’, traffic light sweet peppers, Sriracha sauce with soy sauce, onions and peanuts. It is a simple and easy to put together meal that you can leave to cook all day.
Seriously, you should have smelled the house when we got home! Yummo!!
Ingredients:
500 g TKC Vegetarian Style Chicken (or you could use Tempeh, Quorn or Meet the Alternative)
3 sweet peppers (red, yellow and green for colourful food), chopped into inch sized chunks
1 courgette, chopped into 1.5 cm pieces
16 tbsp low salt soy sauce
4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 tbsp Sriracha Sauce
3 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup of water
2 tbsp corn flour
1/3 cup of peanuts
rice and spring onions for serving
(click here to learn how to make perfect rice!)
Method:
Grab your slow cooker or crock pot and place it on a stable surface near to the power socket
Let the ‘chicken’ thaw while you prepare the vegetables and the rest of the ingredients
Chop your peppers and courgette and add to the pot
Mix together the soy sauce, crushed garlic, sriracha sauce, cider vinegar and water in a jug and stir to make sure the chilli sauce is combined
By now the ‘chicken’ should be softer and you can cut them into smaller chunks
Once chopped, add them to the slow cooker pot
Pour over the sauce and add 1/2 of the peanuts to the pot
Add the sugar and then stir everything to combine
If there are still pieces of vegetable or ‘chicken’ above the sauce, add a little more water until it is covered
Place the lid onto the pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours
When you’re planning to have your tea, cook the rice and chop the spring onions
Mix the cornflour with about 2 tablespoons of water to create a paste and stir through the sauce to thicken it (this is where it will become gloriously glossy!)
Once the rice is done, spoon it into a bowl, to it with the Kung Pao and scatter over the remaining peanuts and spring onion
…and now enjoy!
Oh and did I mention that it is scrummy the next day as left overs too? To be honest, I forgot to give us some more spring onions and peanuts to scatter over the top, but it was packed with more than enough taste that we didn’t notice.
Last week I did two slow cooker meals and it has me thinking that perhaps I should do some more. I cook every day (not that I mind one bit) but it would be nice sometimes to have an easy evening where I can sit back and enjoy a glass of wine and then pop through just to finish some little bits off. I know a lot of you love slow cooking and that is another reason for me to pop some more up on the blog.
Keep your eyes peeled – this girl is getting her slow cooking on!
Do you use a slow cooker? Do you like Chinese food? If so, do you like Kung Pao? Which is your favourite?
Let me know in the comments – I might have a slow cooker version up my sleeve!
- 500 g TKC Vegetarian Style Chicken (or you could use Tempeh, Quorn or Meet the Alternative)
- 3 sweet peppers (red, yellow and green for colourful food), chopped into inch sized chunks
- 1 courgette, chopped into 1.5 cm pieces
- 16 tbsp low salt soy sauce
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 4 tbsp Sriracha Sauce
- 3 tbsp cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 cup of water
- 2 tbsp corn flour
- 1/3 cup of peanuts
- rice and spring onions for serving
- (
- click here to learn how to make perfect rice!
- )
- Grab your slow cooker or crock pot and place it on a stable surface near to the power socket
- Let the ‘chicken’ thaw while you prepare the vegetables and the rest of the ingredients
- Chop your peppers and courgette and add to the pot
- Mix together the soy sauce, crushed garlic, sriracha sauce, cider vinegar and water in a jug and stir to make sure the chilli sauce is combined
- By now the ‘chicken’ should be softer and you can cut them into smaller chunks
- Once chopped, add them to the slow cooker pot
- Pour over the sauce and add 1/2 of the peanuts to the pot
- Add the sugar and then stir everything to combine
- If there are still pieces of vegetable or ‘chicken’ above the sauce, add a little more water until it is covered
- Place the lid onto the pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours
- When you’re planning to have your tea, cook the
- rice
- and chop the spring onions
- Mix the cornflour with about 2 tablespoons of water to create a paste and stir through the sauce to thicken it (this is where it will become gloriously glossy!) Replace the lid to keep it warm while you finish off serving
- Once the rice is done, spoon it into a bowl, to it with the Kung Pao and scatter over the remaining peanuts and spring onion
- and now enjoy!
1 comment
lovely regrads