Chongqing Chilli Chicken

• 300g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 thumbsized piece ginger, finely sliced into matchsticks
• 6 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 20 large dried red chillies, roughly chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons chicken stock or water
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp sugar
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

The Marinade

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 2 tbsp cornflour (corn starch)

Slice the chicken into 2-3cm cubes and then massage the marinade well around the chicken.

BUILD YOUR WOK CLOCK: Start at 12 o’clock with the marinated chicken, followed by the Sichuan peppercorns, ginger and garlic together, then the the dried red chillies, the chicken stock, the salt and sugar to season and lastly the sesame seeds

Heat 5-6 tablespoons of oil to a high heat in a wok. Once smoking hot, place the marinated chicken carefully into the wok of hot oil to ‘shallow deep fry’. Separate out the chicken pieces with a spatula so that they aren’t all sticking together and allow to fry for 2-3 minutes, folding the pieces through carefully until crisp around all the edges. Place a sieve on top of a heat proof bowl and then pour the chicken and excess oil into the sieve to make space for the next ingredients.

 Add 1 tablespoon of the cooked chicken oil back into the wok, bring to a medium-high heat and now start to stir fry around the wok clock, starting with the Sichuan peppercorns, ginger and garlic, followed by the dried red chillies. Stir fry for 30 seconds or so and then add the deep fried chicken back into the wok, allow the heat to build in the wok for 30 seconds to a minute and then pour 2-3 tablespoons of chicken stock or water into the wok and allow to sizzle. Fold the chicken through the wok, but be careful not to toss the wok at this point as you want the stock to hammer some moisture into the chicken.

Once the liquid has evaporated from the wok, season with salt, sugar and sesame seeds and continue to stir fry for roughly 30 seconds to a minute until the sesame seeds start to brown. Serve.