Hailing from southwest China, Kung Pao is a certified Sichuan classic. Also known as Gong Bao and Kung Po, it’s said to be named after the rescuer of the Qing-dynasty governor Ding Bhaozen, who fell into a body of water and was saved by a local named Gongbao Jiding. When the governor visited him years later to give thanks, he was served a delicious dish of diced chicken, peanuts, and spicy Sichuan peppercorns. He asked for the recipe and served it to many of his guests, allowing Kung Pao chicken to spread its wings far and wide. Laroot’s plant-based, sweet-potato version is high in beta-carotene, and marries sweet ground peanuts with zingy Sichuan peppercorns, Chinese five spice, fresh lime, and fermented black beans. Crunchy stir-fried celery and long beans carry an abundance of micronutrients, while a topping of black sesame seeds and roasted agave cashews ups the calcium content and provides low-GI sweetness.