Indian-Chinese chilli chicken

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All along India's eastern border, Indian and Chinese flavours collide, creating an array of intriguing, delicious Indo-Chinese dishes. Chilli chicken is a classic example – a rich, silky mixture of soy sauce, spring onion, sesame, chicken, and of course, plenty of chillis. Feel free to reduce the latter if you want to bring down the heat levels.

First published in 2019

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

  • 50ml of vegetable oil
  • 500g of chicken breast, cut into 3 equal strips then thinly sliced
  • 1 green pepper, cut into a large dice
  • 5 dried red chillies, deseeded and broken into 3 pieces
  • 4 green chillies, cut into thick diagonal slices
  • 1 knob of ginger, approx. 5cm in length, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 red onion, cut into a large dice
  • 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
  • 2 chicken stock pots, dissolved in 500ml hot water
  • 1 tbsp of cornflour
  • 3 spring onions, cut the bulb into quarters and the leaves into 2.5cm long pieces
  • 1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil
  • salt

Method

1
To begin, heat the oil in a large wok or non-stick saucepan and brown the chicken (in batches if required) over a high heat, turning the chicken after a minute so it evenly colours on both sides. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and set aside. Heat the same oil and toss the green peppers for 10 seconds. Drain with a slotted spoon and set aside
2
Add the red chillies, green chillies and ginger to the pan stir-fry for 2–3 minutes. Add the onions and toss well for 1 minute
  • 5 dried red chillies, deseeded and broken into 3 pieces
  • 4 green chillies, cut into thick diagonal slices
  • 1 knob of ginger, approx. 5cm in length, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 red onion, cut into a large dice
3
Add the dark and light soy sauces and mix well. Add stock and bring mixture to a boil. Dissolve the cornflour in 1 ½ tbsp of cold water and mix well
4
Once the stock begins to boil, add the cornflour paste, stirring vigorously to avoid any lumps
5
Add the tossed green peppers, browned chicken and spring onions and cook for a further 2–3 minutes over a high heat
  • 3 spring onions, cut the bulb into quarters and the leaves into 2.5cm long pieces
6
Add the salt as required, drizzle over some sesame oil and serve hot with vegetable or egg-fried rice
  • salt
  • 1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil

Alfred Prasad’s years at Tamarind saw the restaurant awarded one Michelin star, which it retained, and a stack of accolades (including numerous ‘Indian Restaurant Of The Year’ titles).

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