Over the weekend, when I came across Steemit Culinary Challenge's theme for the week - a unique lentils dish that was never seen before - I was so motivated to prepare a meatless dinner, using lentils, one day this week. 

I know this dish has to be unique and original. Come think of it, growing up in Asia, lentils was not something we consume. As a matter of fact, I didn't taste my first lentil dish until I moved to Canada. Hence, my initial thought was I must prepare a lentil dish using Asian ingredients just to experiment. 

I marinated the idea for a day or two, then the other night, my husband was saying how delicious that Kung Pao Chicken was for our mock 'State Dinner' at home. Well, let me explain - a couple weeks ago, I was inspired by the Chinese State Dinner to welcome Donald Trump at his visit to China. So, I made the exact same dishes, including Kung Pao Chicken, and had our own 'State Dinner' at home. Here is link to my Steemit post in case you are curious:  
https://steemit.com/cooking/@steemit-foodie/trump-s-state-dinner-in-china-and-me-serving-state-dinner-in-the-comfort-of-my-own-home-part-2-of-3

When my husband said that, I knew that I need to use lentils to make this dish that he kept talking about. Long story short, that's how I came up with this dish - Kung Pao Lentils: 

![IMG_20171128_202546.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY7Z7mW2nzk78cFGVvhvfrqPEJ176XC21641joYeouvsS/IMG_20171128_202546.jpg)

Ingredients:

Lentils:
1 cup dry green lentils
3 cups water
Pinch of salt

Sauce:
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp vegan hoisin sauce 
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp water

Vegetables:
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion
3 red chilies 
1/2 cup cashews
2 cloves of garlic 
ginger
1 red bell pepper 
1 green bell pepper 
1/2 cup celery

![IMG_20171128_193738.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVcdHdgmsz3jgTw7tHLNU1D7FWGseQS3eYU8zNNpsSPM8/IMG_20171128_193738.jpg)

Instructions:

Cook the Lentils: Combine lentils with water and salt in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. 

Make the sauce: combine all the ingredients into a bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Cook the veggies: Heat oil in a skillet, add onion and chilies. Then add celery, ginger, garlic, peppers and mix well. Add  cashews, cooked lentils and the sauce and mix well. Reduce heat and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Serve with cooked rice or other grains of choice. 

![IMG_20171128_193842.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSTCEiokpJAgk4dv5JLZ4HpwGbrSr2yjYCi8vxtv8eEpU/IMG_20171128_193842.jpg)

![IMG_20171128_200528.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTxVkVSijAYNz7J5xvDrNoWApM6HwjF4qc4ac4BPgt2gi/IMG_20171128_200528.jpg)

![IMG_20171128_195716.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZVRHJweZodre4JL3HNBAhHuokNUEnjetbaMQngEQZXoh/IMG_20171128_195716.jpg)

![IMG_20171128_200319.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWAMZ7Mcj6xMNgqh8ckSgSEybeJ43LX6wRGAKe3adpBvt/IMG_20171128_200319.jpg)

![IMG_20171128_201537.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbFntpZNL3zoxHJTUUvQfiYuYQkY2ZYBmGB93qX7KgJat/IMG_20171128_201537.jpg)

![IMG_20171128_202026.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNoJeCytHu4TfnY24DPcoAvRbc744DddaZfebophBgXBj/IMG_20171128_202026.jpg)

The whole meal, including rice, was prepared in 30 minutes. I cooked the lentils first, then rice in a rice cooker. Then, I chopped the veggies and prepared the sauce, while listening to some music. When the lentils were almost done, I cooked the vegetables, add the lentils and sauce and cooked for a few minutes.

Seriously, it was such an easy peasy and healthy meal and I was happy with the outcome - Think spice from the chilies, crunchy peppers, celery and cashews and earthy lentils. Perfect combo! My family really enjoyed our dinner tonight, and I hope you would give it a try as well.

![IMG_20171128_202546.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY7Z7mW2nzk78cFGVvhvfrqPEJ176XC21641joYeouvsS/IMG_20171128_202546.jpg)