Weekends are all about family. When we all get together at my parents it's a never ending stream of eating, conversation
and catching up on our favourite shows. Last weekend I watched a
Bollywood film with my mum and bonded over a new set of cake severs and forks (I
know!) We ate coconut macaroons and drank lots of tea and caught up on family
gossip. I’m
probably one of few people I know who doesn’t like Chinese food. You might be
thinking what?? How can anyone not
like Chinese food? Before you write me off I will say that I do love crispy
duck and pancakes and dim sum. And once I discovered Hakka Chinese I was in
heaven.
This
very simple and quick Indo-Chinese chilli chicken dish is so satisfying and is
ready in about 20 minutes. That’s if you’re super quick in the kitchen and not
a constant dawdler like me. Served with plain white rice it is so delicious. Chilli chicken is a dish I first
cooked about five years ago when I wanted something spicy but different - and
of course easy to cook. I used to eat out a whole lot more than I do now,
purely out of laziness and after ploughing through tons of recipes I created my
own easy version. So I hope you enjoy this and let me know what you think!
Ingredients (Serves 4)
2
chicken breasts cut into small pieces (about 500g)
1
tsp salt
1
small onion chopped into large chunks
2
spring onions
1 red
pepper chopped
1 green
pepper chopped
4
tbs cashews
1/4
tsp black pepper
1/4
tsp cumin
1
tsp chilli flakes
1
tbs crushed garlic
1
tbs crushed ginger
2
green chillies sliced
1
tsp sesame oil
3
tbs tomato ketchup
6
tbs soy sauce
4 tbs cornflour
1 medium free range egg
4 tbs oil (plus more for frying)
4 tbs oil (plus more for frying)
250ml water
Method
Add a
whisked egg to the chicken pieces with black pepper and cumin and mix with corn flour.
In a wok or frying pan add about 100ml of oil and fry the chicken pieces until golden, turning once or
twice. This takes about 5-7 minutes. Drain and reserve on a plate.
In a separate pan heat 4 tbs of oil and add the garlic and ginger and once golden add onions, salt, sliced green chillies and chopped lower halves of the spring onions - reserving the tips for garnish. Sautée for a minute or so.
To this mix stir in chopped peppers, chilli flakes, tomato ketchup, soy sauce and sesame oil and cook for a few minutes on high heat before adding 250ml of water.
To this mix stir in chopped peppers, chilli flakes, tomato ketchup, soy sauce and sesame oil and cook for a few minutes on high heat before adding 250ml of water.
Once the mixture boils to a simmer reduce heat to low and add chicken pieces and cashews and cook for about 5 minutes.
Garnish with the chopped spring onion tips and serve with basmati rice.
Garnish with the chopped spring onion tips and serve with basmati rice.
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