Like many Westernised Chinese dishes, this probably bears little resemblance to an authentic dish. It is popular in American restaurants but not so prevalent in the UK although it bears a passing resemblance to variations of sticky chicken and sweet-and-sour. This recipe is for four people.
Mix the following then set aside:
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbs Chinese rice vinegar
- 2 tbs honey
- 2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
- 3 tbs tomato ketchup
- 2 tbs brown sugar
- 4 tbs soy sauce
Mix and put in a bowl:
- 1 cup plain flour
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp white pepper
- 0.5 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp paprika
Now take:
- 3 chicken breasts or thigh meat cut into bite sized chunks
- 3 tbs cornflour
- 2 eggs beaten
- A good slug of rape seed oil
Assemble a production line of your chicken, then cornflour, then beaten egg then the flour mix. Put the oil in a wok and heat to sizzling. Dip each chicken piece in the cornflour, egg and then flour mix before dropping into the wok. Fry and stir until the pieces are golden and cooked. Remove the cooked pieces, put in a bowl lined with kitchen paper and transfer to an oven to keep warm. Tip #1: this can be a fiddly operation and you could end up with the first lump burning by the time the last lump goes in. Assemble the floured lumps on a plate so they all go in the pan together. Tip #2: you will probably need to do this in two batches anyway.
While the chicken is keeping warm tip your sauce mix into the wok and bubble away until thick and sticky. Return the chicken to the pan and roll them around until they are coated.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped spring onions, and serve over plain boiled rice. A side vegetable dish would complement this perfectly, such as mushrooms and pepper fry.