“Mountains that look like they would be impossible to travel through, they never fail to take my breath away.” Now that’s where I want to go on vacation. Wilderness vistas that take you back to a simpler time in a place without Rivian trucks and Monster Energy drink cans abandoned in even the most serene meadows.
When I sit in a traffic jam five miles long on the Beartooth Highway during a gorgeous summertime morning in Yellowstone National Park, I feel like I’m walking in the shadows of all these other vacationers and definitely some Instagram influencers. Let’s get the hell out of Yellowstone and head to Jackson where there are so many miles of wilderness that are not polluted with other travelers. National parks may be bucket list worthy for so many Americans but I’m not the biggest fan of crowds. I also find it annoying I can’t take my dog anywhere with me inside a national park. A short traffic jam in Yellowstone National Park and I was ready to head into Wyoming and the serenity of the mountains above Jackson.
According to Kevin Costner, “I’m walking in the shadow of the pioneers, following the trail they blazed,” My kind of hiking trails are the ones where you see more marmots than yuppies in marmot vintage t-shirts. Sometimes you have to Jeep up rugged mountain peaks to get to the most epic trailheads like Goodwin Lake many miles vertically above the town of Jackson. I’m okay with that. On our recent trip through Wyoming we spent five days camping on the outskirts of Jackson. Our campsite sat right below the Tetons and the view was outstanding. This had to be the very best most scenic campsite I have ever stayed at.
Let’s go to Jackson
I’m sure reality TV. stars who holiday in Jackson go out to eat at Jackson’s most bougie restaurants. I mean the kind of upscale Chinese restaurants where yes you can get your Walnut Shrimp glistening with added on Gochujang Peanuts. But those five-star restaurants are not exactly my cup of tea. Give me hole-in-the-wall Chinese food any day. In Big Bear Lake, California where we live, we have a great little Chinese hole-in-the-wall restaurant owned by a family. Their sticky pork spare ribs are out of this world good. I love to go out to eat for things I can not create at home. I seriously don’t know how they make these Shangai Braised Sweet Rib Sauce and it’s probably ninety percent sugar but I really don’t care. These are my Chinese food guilty pleasures when we are at home in our small-town back in California.
When we are blessed enough to be able to hike ten miles a day through the Gros Venture Mountains of Wyoming, this unique inspiration on boring old Kung Pao Shrimp is what I like to create for dinner back at the motorhome. Yes, I do fry up the Gochujang nuts a few days ahead of time. I also add them onto most of my salads so I like to make a big batch all at once.
Not Your Mama’s Gochujang Kung Pao with Shrimp and Sausage
1 white onion, sliced very thin
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 yellow bell pepper, roasted and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
4 teaspoons chili oil
Hot Italian Sausage
Kung Pao Sauce
1 teaspoon sweet soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon grated garlic
3 teaspoons water
1 bag Argentine shrimp
2 teaspoons shaoxing Chinese wine
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 egg
Gochung Candied Peanuts
1 green onion, sliced thin
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
In one tablespoon of sesame oil roast the onions for ten minutes until browned. Add in the sausage links until they are browned all over. Remove them from the heat to cool. Mix in the garlic, ginger, the bean sprouts and the bell pepper pieces. Stir fry the veggies while the oil is heating for the shrimp. Slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces when cool enough to handle and add to the veggie stir fry.
Heat the tablespoons of chili oil for the shrimp. Mix the shrimp, pepper, salt, egg and Chinse wine. Let that sit for five minutes. When you are ready to fry your shrimp, add the cornstarch and fry the shrimp. Set the shrimp aside to drain. Use a spatula to add all the extra chili oil and drippings to your wok with the veggies. Mix in your Kung Pao Sauce to the veggies. Let reduce for just a few minutes.
When ready to serve, add the Kung Pao veggies to your plate, the shrimp on top and garnish with the sesame seeds, green onions and the Candied Gochujang Peanuts.
