Kung pao caramel chicken
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- + marinating
- Easy
- Serves 2
Ingredients
- 4 skinless chicken thigh fillets
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
- 8 dried red chillies
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- ground to make ½ tsp Szechuan peppercorns
- 2 tbsp golden granulated sugar
- grated to make 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 75g roasted peanuts or cashews
- 3 spring onions, cut into 5cm pieces
- to serve jasmine rice or noodles
Method
- STEP 1
Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Mix the cornflour with 2 tbsp of the soy sauce and use it to marinate the chicken in the fridge for 1 hour.
- STEP 2
Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan. Drain the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with some kitchen paper (discard the marinade). Tip into the wok with the chillies, garlic and szechuan peppercorns, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes to brown the chicken and start to blacken the chillies.
- STEP 3
Tip everything out of the wok onto a plate and wipe the pan clean with some kitchen paper. Tip the sugar into the wok with 50ml water and boil until it turns a caramel colour. Measure out 300ml of warm water, then quickly tip it into the wok to stop the caramel colouring more. Add the ginger, vinegar, sesame oil and remaining soy sauce, and bring back to the boil. Return the chicken mixture to the wok, along with the peanuts or cashews, and continue to bubble for 20 25 minutes or until the sauce is reduced to a caramel consistency and coating the chicken.
- STEP 4
Add the spring onions whites for the final 2 minutes, followed by the spring onion greens for the final 30 seconds. Serve with jasmine rice or noodles.
