Kung Pao Chicken

Chicken marinade

400 g free-range chicken breast, cubed (small pieces, larger than a peanut)

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 chicken stock cube

1 large egg white

2 1/2 tbsp cornflour

Marinade

Combine the chicken, salt, chicken powder, white pepper, egg white and cornflour in a bowl and leave to marinate for 20−40 min.

Other ingredients

Vegetable oil

1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns

1 tsp dried chillies

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp crushed garlic

50 g unsalted peanuts

1 tbsp Pixian chilli bean paste

60 ml chinkiang rice wine vinegar

40 g caster sugar

1 tsp dark soy sauce

2 leeks, halved, cleaned and sliced into 1 cm coins

METHOD

1. Pour 1 cm (depth) vegetable oil into a wok and place on a high heat.
2. When hot, fry the peanuts until lightly golden, remove from wok with a slotted spoon and set aside on kitchen towel to drain.
3. Add the chicken and fry for 2-3 mins until starting to colour (about 70% cooked); remove from wok with a slotted spoon and set aside on kitchen towel to drain.
4. Pour most of the oil away (into a small heatproof bowl), leaving 2 tbsp in the wok.
5. Fry the peppercorns and chillies until aromatic. Add the ginger and garlic and chilli paste. Cook until the red oil starts to separate.
6. Pour in the rice vinegar and sugar and bring to simmering. Add soy sauce, followed by the chicken. Stir, then add the leeks and fry for a 4 minutes.
7. Finally, add the peanuts. Stir fry for 10 seconds then remove from the heat and serve.

Yangzhou fried rice

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 leek, washed and finely chopped

1 large carrot, diced small

1/2 green pepper, diced small

1 tbsp spring onion, finely sliced

250 g cooked steamed rice (ideally cooked the day before, to dry out a little)

¼ tsp sea salt

1 tsp sesame oil

METHOD

1. Place the wok on a very high heat and add the oil. When it starts to smoke add the eggs and stir fry for 30 seconds, breaking up the egg into smaller pieces using a spoon. Remove to a bowl.
2. Fry the leeks for 2 minutes, then add the carrots, peppers and spring onion and fry for another 2 minutes.
3. Add the rice and cook for about 5 mins until the rice starts to caramelise, then return egg and add the sesame oil, fry for a minute, remove and serve.