Kung Pao Chickpea Tacos...

Yesterday I was thinking about a recipe I used to make and love for Kung Pao Chicken Tacos.  I have zero craving for chicken but I thought about how I could make this recipe vegan.  Here is what I came up with:

• 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 5 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, divided
• dash of cornstarch
• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3 Tbsp coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
• 3/4 cup diagonally sliced celery (about 2 stalks)
• 9 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions (for Stephen)
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Jasmine rice

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.  
2. In a bowl, mix chickpeas and 3 Tbsp soy sauce.  Marinate at room temperature until oven has heated.  
3. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking oil.  Place chickpeas on tray, discard extra marinade, bake 20-25 minutes, until outside is crunchy.
4. Make a batch of Jasmine rice, follow bags cooking instructions.
5. In a small pan, combine cornstarch, remaining 2 Tbsp soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, vinegar, and chile paste.  Stir with a whisk until smooth.  Heat on medium until slightly thick, stir in garlic, peanuts, celery.  Remove from heat and add baked chickpeas. 
6. Warm tortillas in microwave, about 30 seconds.
7. Divide chickpea mixture evenly among tortillas.  Top each taco with rice, green onions and bell pepper strips.  Serve with lime wedges.

Recipe by The Vegan Paige

We thought they turned out great.  We all really enjoyed them. My "no star" girl said they were not too spicy, she said she would give them one-two stars on the spicy scale.  

Give it a try for yourself and let me know what you think.