Gunpowder chicken with dried red chillies & peanuts

Dinner with 13 ingredients.

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn ground
• bunch spring onions cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 1 tablespoon cornflour mixed into 1 tbsp water
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 4 tablespoon chicken stock
• 5 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 900 g), cut into pieces
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 15 whole dried bird's-eye chillies
• 4 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
• 2 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 50 gram whole roasted peanut

Method

1. Marinate the chicken with the soy and leave to sit for 1 hr. If you don’t have time to marinate, don’t worry – but it does add extra flavour. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Using a wok and a small amount of the oil, sear the chicken in batches. When it’s all browned, remove from the pan and set aside. Snip the stems from the chillies and shake out the seeds. Add the remaining oil and cook the chillies for 1 min, shaking the pan constantly to prevent them burning. Add the chicken back in with the peppercorns, spring onions and peanuts, then stir-fry for 1 min more. Add the sauce and stir for a few mins more until thickened.