Takeout at home takes on a whole new meaning with these Asian fusion Kung Pao chickpea tacos!
kung pao chickpea tacos

Jury duty. Group therapy.

On a venn diagram, they would be, like…one circle.

Because, SAME THING.

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Seriously, it goes something like this:

“Hi, my name is [insert name here] and these are the myriad occurrences in my life that I believe have affected me so intensely that I can’t possibly serve as a fair juror on your trial”.

And then commences oversharing of aforementioned individual’s life history. Times 32.

Followed by the lawyers waxing poetic about how, NO! These experiences have actually made this person into a better juror. In fact, that they have specifically primed them to be the best possible juror on this particular trial!

Times 32.

And then the lawyers fight with each other about who mentioned a “burden of proof” when they shouldn’t have, who told the jury to just use “common sense” (when at least 60% of the jury has no common sense), who tried to instruct the jury on the law out of turn.

Times twenty-three OBJECTIONS. (I counted.)

Until a judge has to be called in to give both of them a time out.

It was a long 48 hours. These tacos at the end of the day? Much appreciated.

These Asian fusion bad boys come together much more quickly than it will take a delivery boy to get to your apartment in rush hour. And they’re about nine million times healthier and therefore will make you feel better about life.

So basically, they’re like the anti-jury duty.

They’re also the anti-its-still-not-friday-yet. And we need some of that.

Now for the GIVEAWAY!! I was given a copy of the fabulous cookbook from which this recipe comes – Cooking Light Global Kitchen: The World’s Most Delicious Food Made Easy. It’s a new addition to the Cooking Light family and features 150 great recipes from around the world! The best part is, they’re all totally good for you and don’t call for any weirdo ingredients, so you’ll be able to find everything you need to make them from your local supermarket.

And I was also given an extra copy to GIVEAWAY to one of you!! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment letting me know what your favorite type of cuisine is! The giveaway will run until Wednesday, March 19th at 11:59PM and the winner will be announced in my post on Thursday, March 20th!

Also, I’m guesting posting today over at my dear friend Audra’s blog! She’s ROCKING at being a new mommy, but I thought I would give her a little bit more time with her cutie by making some crazy good Lemon Vanilla Coconut Dream Bars to share with you. So head on over and check them out! Along with all of Audra’s other amazingly delicious sweet treats. (She is basically a salted caramel goddess.)

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One year ago…Eggplant and Swiss Chard Tortino, Za’atar and Aleppo Pepper Roasted Potato, Bean and Swiss Chard Tacos, Red Lentil Coconut Soup

Two years ago…Breakfast Bowl with Za’atar Roasted Eggplant, Swiss Chard, Butternut Squash, and Hummus, Peanut Noodle Salad with Edamame and Bok Choy

Three years ago…Oven-Baked Beignets with Saffron, Dried Cherries, and a Coconut Sugar Glaze

Four years ago…Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup

Kung Pao Chickpea Tacos {GIVEAWAY}
 
Takeout at home takes on a whole new meaning with these Asian fusion Kung Pao chickpea tacos!
Yield: 8 tacos
Ingredients
  • 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and then boiled until tender or 14 oz canned chickpeas
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1½ tsp cornstarch
  • 1½ tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp dark sesame oil, divided
  • 2 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp sriracha
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
  • 1 lb snow peas, coarsely chopped
  • 3 tbsp coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
  • 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Instructions
  1. Prepare chickpeas according to package instructions.
  2. Whisk together the soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and sriracha.
  3. Heat sesame oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the pepper slices and snow peas to the skillet, sauteing until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add in the sauce and chickpeas, and cook until heated through.
  4. Distribute the filling among the tortillas and top with the peanuts. Serve.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 2 tacos

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119 Responses to Kung Pao Chickpea Tacos {GIVEAWAY}

  1. Sarah says:

    I am a fan of Khmer food – fresh and just well balanced

  2. Kathy says:

    These look so fresh and appetizing, Joanne! Such vibrant colors….they sound so satisfying and delicious…yum!

  3. Katherine says:

    My favorite is Thai food! It is best when spicy!

  4. Shanna says:

    I love Indian, Ethiopian, Kenyan, and Mexican. I can’t pick just one!

  5. Beth says:

    I love everything about this post. Yup, I’ve done jury duty and can relate. These tacos look amazing! And a great giveaway … how could I choose just one? Eating out, I’m most likely to go Thai, but cooking in it’s probably French.

  6. Tis the year for tacos! Rob would love this! Of course, Indian cuisine is his favourite but we are embracing Mexican more and more these days. 😉

  7. Hahah jury duty does not sound fun at all. I’m glad you were able to escape it. These tacos look so good. My favorite cuisine has to be Indian!

  8. Cori says:

    We love Italian forever and always

  9. Wow you, Tara, and my dad all have jury duty this week. Are you and Tara on the same jury? That’d make it less painful haha. And I’m excited to hear about this new Cooking Light cookbook. I have enjoyed their others. As for my favorite cuisine, that’s tough as it changes based on my mood. Right now I’m really in the mood for Thai food :-P.

  10. So glad you got out of jury duty! Dealing with that is really the worst. These tacos, much better than that!

  11. Kinsey says:

    Yum! This reminds me of all the food carts/trucks in Portland–they all do fusion food and most are Mexican/Korean or Japanese/Mexican fusion. That or they just put kimchi on everything!

  12. Do food trucks count as a style of cuisine? I haven’t dined at one that I didn’t like yet! In my area we have truck that offer everything from gourmet naan wraps to Florida-style seafood. And crepes. I love the crepe truck!

  13. Lynda says:

    i love all kinds of asian food

  14. These tacos are genius! Making me crave lunch at 9 a.m!

  15. Amy says:

    I love new American and French cuisine!

  16. Barbara says:

    Thai, Mexican, Mediterranean!

  17. Erika says:

    Oh my goodness.. Kung pao anything and I’m sold.. and tacos.. This looks sooo good..

  18. What a fun way to enjoy tacos! Love Kung Pao seasonings.

  19. Angel says:

    Italian and Thai food are my top two !!

  20. Your tacos look amazing and what a great way to change up tacos. My favorite cuisine has to be Mexican or Thai! Yum!

  21. I love Mexican food! These tacos look amazing!

  22. Ray says:

    Love me some Morrocan food!

  23. Danielle says:

    Wow! It’s tough to narrow it down to one cuisine, but I guess it would be Mexican. These tacos are going on my menu for next week! Thanks!

  24. These look great! Narrowing down a favorite type is SO hard, but I can never get enough Thai! Heading over to check out your bars! 🙂

  25. I have never actually gotten that far in the process (sending my “letter” back was always it…). Crazy! And an overwhelming YES to these tacos – I love the vegged-up combo!

  26. I have never done jury duty. Not yet at least. These tacos look so great Joanne! I don’t think I can narrow my favorite type of cuisine. Let’s go with Mexican today haha!

  27. cheri says:

    Jury duty, ugh, though some people really like it, my mom for instance, and she gives it her all. Anyway your tacos look amazing, love the addition of the peanuts on top. My favorite food is thai or indian, it’s hard to pick between the two. Happy week-end!

  28. dana says:

    I really love middle eastern food!

  29. Erin says:

    I LOVE Mexican food.

  30. This is soooo super healthy Joanne! I love it! They look gorgeous too!

  31. danielle says:

    I love thai food it would probably be my favorite – or maybe indian? We always have an abundance of chick peas in our house – we all love them.

  32. These look so good! I love all food. Today, I’m thinking my fave is Indian.

  33. sandra says:

    Mexican. This cookbook looks great – thanks for offering it. I am so with you on the jury duty as group therapy – being thrown together with a bunch of complete strangers from all walks of life makes for interesting conversations (?)

  34. Anie U says:

    Picking a favorite is hard! But, I would probably say Mexican or Thai

  35. Emma says:

    As crazy as I am for regular Mexi-style tacos I could definitely get behind this Asian-style alternative. That sucks about the jury duty but it’s all done now right?
    Popping over to see your guest post now 🙂

  36. gloria says:

    these tacos are amazing and look delicious Joanne.
    My favorite is Indian food and some china food, sorry I can’t choose!:)
    And love chilean food too lol

  37. Van says:

    Very nice, Joanne. I love the fact that sriracha is included in this recipe.

  38. Susan says:

    I’ve somehow only managed to get called for jury duty once and they didn’t pick me. I have a strange feeling my time is coming again soon. These tacos would definitely make sitting all day in the courthouse better.

  39. Love these tacos, especially w the sugar peas! I love sushi, curries and all things spicy.

  40. Pam says:

    I’ve never been on jury duty before. It sounds like such a fun time. NOT.

    These tacos sound like such a fun time… for my mouth! Love the textures & flavors in these bad boys.

    PICK ME – In regards to your giveaway – PICK ME – my favorite cuisine is Mexican – PICK ME. 🙂

  41. I’ve never thought of chinese food in tacos!! But I do love korean meats in tacos. yum! Biased, but korean food FTW!

  42. These tacos look so good! I’ll just pretend they’re nachos and have a plateful.
    I love all cuisines! I have to pick just one? I guess Mexican or Middle Eastern. Gee, that’s two. Ok, Middle Eastern. I am a falafel feind.

  43. Miranda says:

    YUM. My newly discovered favorite cuisine is Burmese… the variety of ingredients in Burmese fresh noodle salads inspires me to try new combinations when cooking at home!

  44. Natasha O says:

    My favorite cuisine as of late is Middle Eastern! SO yummy!!!

  45. Emily Leung says:

    Japanese is definitely my favorite!

  46. Ilene says:

    My favorite is thai food.

  47. Abby says:

    I love these x 32! And note to self, avoid jury duty at all costs haha. Glad you got out of that!

  48. Lori says:

    My fave is Mexican! Indian is a close second, though. Thanks for giveaway.

  49. Michele says:

    I’m a lover of French & Italian. I love cooking light’s magazine!

  50. My dad about died the last time he had jury duty, and oh, BTW, he got chosen for a trial. And you couldn’t so much as bring your cell phone in the courthouse, which seemed rather scary to me. These tacos are definitely not scary. Dried chickpeas are my new favorite thing to cook.

  51. These tacos look so appetizing!

  52. itzia says:

    i can’t get enough of thai cuisine.

  53. Your pictures are GORGEOUS! And love the snow peas in these tacos – awesome crunch factor with them in there!
    I know you are gonna hate me – but I love jury duty – yes, I have issues – but the court house is less than 10 minutes from my home and I look forward to that commute than my hour long one most days 🙂

  54. RANDI COOK says:

    Italian, Mexican, Chinese

  55. Haley says:

    I think Vietnamese food is my favorite!

  56. it is a toss up, i love mexican & italian both alot. thanks, what a nice giveaway. most of my reading time is cookbooks or cooking magazines.

  57. For me it is a tie between Indian and Thai, but honestly I am an adventurous eater and will try anything. I am loving how vibrant your photos are – makes me want to reach out for a taco right now.

  58. Yum! This looks so delicious! I love chickpeas and tacos, so the combination sounds amazing for me. These sound so fresh! Thanks for sharing!

  59. P says:

    Ugh, jury duty :/….these tacos do seem like the perfect pick-me-up!

    My favorite cuisine is Ethiopian :)!

  60. Kathleen Kennedy says:

    I was struggling to come up with my favorite, because I love so many! Mainly I love big flavor and spice. I finally tried to figure out what cuisine I would choose if I could only eat one for the rest of my life. I finally settled on Italian because you can always ramp up the spiciness, I love all the fresh veggies, pasta is my favorite starch, that and garlic bread, and I could also occasionally indulge in a big gloopy cheesy binge of lasagne, just every once in a while! AND I love Italian desserts!

  61. Sara says:

    Thai, Indian, Japanese, Chinese… honestly just about anything! 🙂

  62. Elizabeth E says:

    Um, these are going on the to make list immediately! My favorites? Ethiopian, Thai, and Mexican! Oh, throw in Indian and Chinese, too.

  63. sippitysup says:

    I know I’d like these tacos so I’ll certainly like the book. GREG

  64. Kate says:

    Thai cuisine is my favorite, but I rarely make it at home.

  65. I love Indian food! Sorry about jury duty 🙁

  66. Tweeted, Pinned, and Facebooked these today. Love!!

  67. Christina says:

    Ah jury duty 🙂 love all the food fusions you find in Singaporean cuisine … if I could eat some pepper crab right now.. yum!

  68. Love these tacos, they sound so amazing! Our favorite food is always Italian!

  69. No way, I just posted some Kung Pao veggie version too. Great minds think alike 🙂 I love your chick pea version a lot. Nothing but wholesome. On another note, jury duty is the worst. I am so glad I haven’t had the chance to experience just yet. It looks painful 🙂

  70. Erin Ellis says:

    My favorite is Mexican cuisine…..the kind that uses fresh veggies and is light and yummy. NOT the covered with tons of grease and cheese. This cookbook would be fab! Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
    Erin
    fairyfractal at gmail dot com

  71. These tacos sounds tasty! I’m actually REALLY happy I will never have jury duty ever in life since law students/lawyers can’t do it…it sounds horrible from everyone I’ve heard from!

  72. Reeni says:

    These are so creative! I never had Chinese tacos before or even thought to put the two together! LOVE it!

  73. Victoria says:

    I love this fusion recipe!! Truthfully, I’ll take anything Asian, but I’d have to say my favorite cuisine would probably be Indian… can’t get enough 😀

  74. You are so seriously creative, Jo!

  75. A) Oh man, jury duty is ROUGH.

    B) I LOVE this taco creation!

  76. JoAn Knudson says:

    This dish looks fresh, green, and healthy!

  77. jacquie says:

    currently my favorite is indian

  78. Chantal H. says:

    Probably Mexican. It’s so versatile and I love the spices and herbs used, like cilantro and cumin.

  79. Kelster says:

    It’s a tie between Thai & Jamaican.

  80. Oooh … I commented on your last post that I’d love to do jury duty, Joanne, but you made me change my mind rather quickly after I read this! These unusual healthy tacos look amazing, though … love the idea of the crunchy peanuts to finish it all off!

  81. What an ordeal you had to go through for jury duty! Tacos fix everything. 🙂 These look delicious. I love chickpeas so I’m all over these!

  82. These tacos certainly do look fantastic! I just finished a large breakfast, but wish I was eating these tacos instead 🙂

  83. Yum, Joanne, these look amazing!! I love a good vegetarian taco. My favorite type of cuisine? Always Mexican. Always.

  84. How come I’d never thought of making chickpea tacos? Oh boy, do they look awesome!

  85. I’m so grateful we don’t do jury duty here. My favourite type of cuisine in Italian 🙂

  86. Carolsue says:

    I never met a cuisine I didn’t like, but I think Thai is my all time favorite. I like spicy food!

  87. Looks great and so perfect for spring 🙂

  88. barbara n says:

    My favorite type of cuisine is Italian!

  89. Mmm.. Joanne, these tacos look so vibrant! Love the chickpeas and now peas together. As to our favorite cuisines…Hungarian, Austrian, German,French & Italian 🙂
    Cheers,
    J+C

  90. Gali M. says:

    Mediterranean and Moroccan Cuisines are my best Favorite 🙂

  91. MAK says:

    My favorite cuisine is anything that can be construed as Mediterranean.

  92. Mmm Mediterranean and delicious 😀

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  93. ugh, i can’t just pick 1 cuisine that’s my favorite. they all are! thai, mexican, and italian probably top my list though 🙂

  94. Meg says:

    So hard to choose, but I guess my favorite is….chinese food. Always craving it!

  95. rika@vm says:

    Nice twist there – chickpea tacos! Why didn’t I even think of that?! I just made a savory oatmeal with chickpeas, and now I want this in tacos!

  96. Johanna GGG says:

    kudos to you for making dinner after this – I would be tempted to open a tin of dinner from the pantry or more hopefully to find something in freezer that I have for a bad day – looks just what you needed though – healthy and tasty with a little tortilla comfort

  97. Tobie says:

    I love Mexican food.

  98. Kinda obsessed with the idea of putting peas in these tacos. We are always looking for new ways to eat them from the garden so definitely going to try this now!

  99. Lori says:

    I’m so glad those 48 hours are over for you! I have no doubt these tacos could make the worst day better. What a brilliant idea! Must try.

  100. Pam says:

    My favorite foods are Thai, Italian, and Indian.

  101. I think, after jury duty like that, you’d need a double portion of these tacos.Or even a triple.

  102. Ruxana says:

    wow this looks awesome and healthy

  103. Christian says:

    Those tacos look quite yummy. Any other legume you might use instead of chicpeas? (We don’t get along) My favorite cuisine is Mexican, but I love Thai and Indian as well. 🙂

  104. katie says:

    Without a doubt sushi is my favorite!

  105. Jordan says:

    Thai!! How I miss good Thai restaurants on the East Coast.

  106. Keely says:

    Oh so hard to pick one…growing up in Texas I can’t survive a few weeks without Mexican but then I’m also very partial to Italian and Chinese as well.

  107. Deairdre Miller says:

    Mexican!

  108. Sarah Lyn says:

    Favorite Cuisine: Kerala-style South Indian. The flavor of coconut-oil spluttered curry leaves, chilis, and mustard seeds is damn near perfect.

  109. Sydni says:

    Israeli food. I’m excited to go back to the states after two years of living here, but one of the things that I’ll miss most is the food 🙂

  110. Nutmeg Nanny says:

    I just love all types of tacos, these look so fresh 🙂 My husband will love them!

  111. Barbara says:

    I like most cuisines and am willing to try a lot of different foods. Mexican, Italian, Asian you name it I like it. These tacos look wonderful.

  112. These tacos look RIDICULOUS. In the best possible way. Yum!

  113. Birdle says:

    I HATE to be such a grouch but do you people not realize the comment section for the most part, is for people that have actually tried the recipe and have something concrete to contribute. The original contributors must go mad scrolling through 40-50 messages that just say “oh, that looks so good”. TRY the recipe and then get back to her. She’ll really appreciate that much more.

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