DiningBuzz! - best way to dry Kung Pao peppers?

Hoping that some home gardeners have the answer as to what is a good way to dry Kung Pao peppers.

This is my first year growing the plant and I'm getting a good number of peppers growing.

Also curious how to dry sage, sweet basil, etc.

I seem to recall one of the food shows (Alton Brown?) suggesting that one buy cheap furnace filters, lay produce down on filter, then strap all filters to a box fan to provide moving air. Edited to add: found the episode: http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/drying-herbs/1278.html

what are Kung Pao peppers?

like the ones that numb? in a lot of SiChuan food?
I thought you roasted those?

what are Kung Pao peppers?

like the ones that numb? in a lot of SiChuan food?
I thought you roasted those?

while the ones in this pic are red, mine are all still green but getting long ~4"+
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoX3aGxhQvmcAFs2JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMT Q4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimage s.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dkung%2B pao%2Bpepper%2Bplant%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D16&w=800&h=533&imgurl=pics.davesgarden.com%2Fpics%2F2007%2F09%2F2 9%2Faries44%2F23efe7.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdavesgarden.com%2Fguides%2Fpf%2F showimage%2F168418%2F&size=182.9+KB&name=...+%3A+Picture+%233+of+Chile+Pepper%2C+Hot+P epper+%26%2339%3BKung+Pao%26%2339%3B+%28Capsicum+a nnuum&p=kung+pao+pepper+plant&oid=a7d0b6452215b5fd4000af9385914418&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-701&tt=...%2B%253A%2BPicture%2B%25233%2Bof%2BChile%2BP epper%252C%2BHot%2BPepper%2B%2526%252339%253BKung% 2BPao%2526%252339%253B%2B%2528Capsicum%2Bannuum&b=0&ni=40&no=16&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11irc25qs&sigb=13c93828i&sigi=11nt0905s&.crumb=XKPK43ZtfJQ

yes to your questions about using in Sichuan/Szechuan/Szechwan food, I don't know about roasting, I usually see them chopped in half/thirds in stir fry.

ok i had a different pepper in mind.. sorry!

Before we moved and anything we grew became deer food, I use to dry a ton of veggies, peppers, tomatoes, some fruits, etc.

Smaller stuff, like the Kung Pao peppers, if you have a basement that is not humid, I would just hang on wire (like florist wire), so that they were one on top of the other not touching (like beaded curtains of the 70's) like this

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/699/hangingpeppers27.jpg

I would hang them from the rafters and have a box fan on low to keep the air circulating (kept them from getting moldy)

Anything larger than that I used a dehydrator on. I love the excalibur series

http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/

but it's not cheap. It is however often available used or at tag sales for little money. One warning if you have cats, apparently they like the gentle heat of the dehydrator gives off, and ours would sometimes sit on top of it when we were not home and the house was chilly. Fine for the eight pound one, but at the time we also had a 22 lb one, which went right through the dehydrator.

seems like a lot of work for some dried peppers that you can buy for about a buck a bag in china town? :D

seems like a lot of work for some dried peppers that you can buy for about a buck a bag in china town? :Dviewed that way perhaps, but there comes a satisfaction growing items at home that you can't put a price on.

viewed that way perhaps, but there comes a satisfaction growing items at home that you can't put a price on.

Very true.. we have to fight off slugs to grow a stem of sweet basils.. i wonder the same but still do it :)

you should consider making piri piri sauce with about a half a pound of them:

http://fishcooking.about.com/od/saucesforfishandseafood/r/piripiri_sauce.htm

quadruple the pepper count. keep the seeds out.

slugs hate copper. Get some copper foil or other thin copper (not coated) and wrap that around the stalks. No more slug problem.

you should consider making piri piri sauce with about a half a pound of them:

http://fishcooking.about.com/od/saucesforfishandseafood/r/piripiri_sauce.htm
oooo, this I will make for sure, the recipe actually calls for the small Thai chiles which I also have a ton of. Thanks for the idea.I would hang them from the rafters and have a box fan on low to keep the air circulating (kept them from getting moldy)I think this is the route I'm going to go.:-:

Two years ago, we grew a boatload of various small hot peppers including kung pao. To dry them, we simply used a sewing needle and threads about 4 feet long, strung them sideways and hung them up. The other way we preserved them was to spread them out on a cookie sheet, hit them lightly with a propane torch to char/blister the skin, cook them in a small amount of water, then puree them and freeze in small containers.