What to do with those little packets they give you when you get Pho takeout.

I'm somewhat of a pho purist. I don't like to taint my perfectly seasoned broth with more than the requisite thai basil, sprouts, and hearty dose of lime juice. You'll never see me grab for the squeezy bottles of hoisin and chili sauce. So, when I get pho takeout, those individual ketchup-sized packets of hoisin and chili sauces just get thrown into the "take-out junk drawer" alongside flimsy plastic knives that can cut through stuff as well as elementary school scissors.

As I've been really into the joys of Chinese cooking (and my new 12" omelette pan), I had an epiphany to saucing up a recent stir-fry experience: use the damn take-out sauces! That's right, I took one hoisin packet and one chili sauce packet (that they give you with Le Saigon pho takeout), snipped off the tops, and squeezed those suckers right into my stir-fry. A couple of quick pan flips et voila! Tastes just like kung pao! (click on photo for an up close and personal look)



"Take out drawer" Kung Pao
1 lb chicken breast tenders, chopped, lightly floured and doused in soy sauce
sliced red bell peppers
1/2 sliced onion
chopped snow peas
1 sliced red chili (for extra heat if needed... I felt like going extra spicy here)
roasted peanuts
1 packet each: hoisin sauce, chili sauce

It's stir-fry, so I did this all over high-high heat with some grapeseed oil. Chicken went in first to get a quick glaze, quickly followed by the peppers and onions. Snow peas need a bit less time to cook, so they went in about a minute later. Last 20 seconds of cooking, I threw in the peanuts and sauces, gave the whole thing a couple of quick pan flips, and moved to the serving dish (after snapping a quick photo). Serve over rice, of course.