Salt and pepper chicken

Ingredients

• 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 50g cornflour
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice, plus a pinch
• vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 spring onions, sliced into lengths
• 1 red chilli, sliced
• 1 tbsp finely grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• large pinch of flaky sea salt
• ½ tsp szechuan peppercorns, ground
• 3 tbsp shaoxing rice wine
• 3 tbsp soy sauce

Description

• STEP 1

  Put the chicken in a bowl, sprinkle over the cornflour and add a pinch of five spice and a pinch of salt. Toss well.

• STEP 2

  Heat about 2cm of oil in a wok or deep frying pan until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds when gently lowered in. Add the chicken and fry for 10-12 mins or until golden and crunchy. Drain on kitchen paper.

• STEP 3

  Pour out most of the oil into a heatproof bowl, leaving 1 tbsp of oil in the pan. Add the onion, spring onion and chilli, stir-fry for 3 mins, tossing frequently, then add the ginger and garlic. Fry for another minute until fragrant, then add the chicken back to the pan with 1 tsp of the five spice, salt, pepper, wine and soy sauce. Give everything a toss to coat briefly in the sauce and spices. Serve with rice and steamed Chinese greens, if you like.