gong bao chicken with peanuts

This gong bao chicken (also sometimes written as kung pao chicken) with peanuts is the second new thing I’ve cooked since Avi was born. The first was that amazing pot roast from Deb that I’ve been making entirely in the slow-cooker. There’s also been some light cooking happening, mostly of old favorites and quick weeknight meals that can be made in advance and reheated, or meals that come together in a flash. And I’ve gone so far as to make Marcella Hazan’s bolognese while Andrew’s mom helped to watch Avi. But what I’ve stayed away from was opening cookbooks and learning something new. It was as if my brain was incapable of processing new information. In a way it was — I wanted to write today about postpartum anxiety, which I was diagnosed with a few weeks ago — but I’ll save that for another day, for another post. I’m doing better, I think, than a few weeks ago, but it’s something I definitely want to talk about here in hopes that it might help another new mom or make us all more informed collectively. This parenthood thing is not for the faint of heart.

In a little over a week and a half, on April 21, I go back to work, and I can’t wait. It’s strange to realize that I love my work so much, I have been missing it over the last ten weeks. I also miss the routine and control over my schedule. I’m excited and nervous about striking a balance that works for me; but I’m also a little sad to leave Avi — right as he’s getting more interesting and fun – I have to leave him. I’ve been thinking a lot about the US maternity leave (and how much it is lacking compared to other developed countries), and there’s not much I can add that hasn’t been said before by people far more eloquent than me. It’s a funny conundrum: While I’m ready for more structure, I wish, at the same time, there was more time to see how Avi develops and changes. He’s currently into being sung and read to, likes having a conversation while getting his diaper changed, seems to love both Dvorak and Dr. Dre, and gets really mad when you take the bottle out of his mouth mid-feeding. And I mean, furious! Overall, he is smiley and wiggly, and is turning into such a fun little guy. Also, that hair!

The stir-fry here came out of a desire to recreate a pre-assembled dinner kit that comes with our grocery delivery service, Fresh Direct. Our friend and neighbor, Nicole, told me of this weeknight dinner staple at her house. Now, Nicole is no slouch when it comes to cooking, so hearing her recommend a pre-chopped kit got my attention; plus I figured there will be nights when I’ll come home from work and have exactly ten minutes to get dinner on the table, prep and all. And lo, the dinner kit was good – delicious even. But of course, it made me want to recreate it on my own, see if I can prep it ahead and assemble my own dinner kit if you will.

I’m happy to report that it’s possible! And even if you don’t prep ahead, this is a quick and easy weeknight meal that you can pull together in about half an hour start to finish (music to the ears of working and commuting moms and dads everywhere)! I got the original recipe from an excellent cookbook that Luisa recommended awhile back: Fuchsia Dunlop’s Every Grain of Rice. For months it sat on my bookshelf, untouched, but a week ago, I decided to leaf through it, and what a treasure it is: full of accessible, delicious-sounding recipes that are meant to be cooked at home. I’ve bookmarked almost two dozen (and those were the ones I wanted to make immediately!) This stir-fry is only the beginning.

One thing to keep in mind though is that you’ll need to build up your pantry of Chinese ingredient staples like dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and Sichuan peppercorns. The list that Dunlop provides is short and attainable, but if you’re unfamiliar with these ingredients, even one new item can sound intimidating. Don’t be scared off by these, and just build up your Chinese staple pantry or use some good substitutes. I didn’t have the necessary Chiankiang vinegar, so I used my unseasoned rice vinegar, and I think the results were pretty great. If you don’t have Sichuan peppercorns, try black peppercorns instead. The final result will not be as fragrant, or fiery, but it’ll still be delicious. Best of all, I feel like I’ve broken the seal on “new” recipes, and I am only optimistic about what’s next. I’ve some beautiful new and about-to-come-out cookbooks written by dear friends that I’ve marked for cooking. I hope to tell you about them next week! In the meantime, happy weekend to all – may it be restful and delicious.