Kung Pao Chicken (宮保雞丁)

Ingredients

• 400g chicken thighs
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 4 Birdseye chilli
• 4 dried large red chillies
• 200g onion
• 200g red pepper
• Handful of cashew nuts

The Marinade

• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 pinch Chinese 5 spice
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• Dash of dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon corn flour

Sauce

• 1 tbsp light soy
• 1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• 50ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp tomato paste (or douban sauce 豆瓣醬)

Instructions

1. Immediately, soak large red chillies, whole, in hot water for 10-15 minutes.
2. While the chillies are soaking, finely slice the onion and red pepper, before then cutting your chicken thighs into cubes. Set the cubed chicken into a separate bowl, then finely dice the garlic and birdseye chillies and finally crush the Sichuanese peppercorns with either a pestle and mortar or rolling pin.
3. Next, marinate your chicken. Ensuring that the cornflour is introduced last, add all of the marinade ingredients to the cubed chicken and then massage well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix all of the sauce ingredients together.
5. At this point, your large red chilies should be soaked. Remove them from the hot water and place in a bowl with the chopped garlic, birdseye chillies and Sichuanese peppercorns to form your ‘Spice Mix’.
6. Time to build your wok clock! On a large plate, place the sliced onions at 12 o’clock. Then arrange the peppers, spice mix, marinated chicken, sauce and cashew nuts clockwise around the edge of the plate. Time to get wokking!

Cooking

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok to high heat.
2. Once smoking hot, add the onions and peppers and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
3. Push the onions and peppers to one side of the wok and add an extra 1/2 a teaspoon of oil to centre of wok.
4. Bring the oil to a high heat and add the chicken. Allow the chicken to sit and sear on one side, before then folding it through with the peppers and onions and stir-frying until the chicken is golden brown.
5. Now, add the spice mix, immediately followed by the sauce, and continue to cook for 2 minutes.
6. Finally, add cashew nuts and serve – preferably with some steamed rice!