This stir-fry is usually a dish you order from a takeaway menu, but making it at home will guarantee a more satisfying and delicious dinner. Clarissa Feildel’s Kung Pao chicken is fiery hot, vibrant and filled with punchy flavours.

Use crushed Sichuan peppercorns and dried chillies for a kick of heat, and follow it up with an addictive soy and black vinegar sauce for the ultimate flavourful dinner.

Ingredients

600g boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or Mirin

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornflour

Ground white pepper

Sauce

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar or rice wine

1 – 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon cornflour

2 tablespoons water

For the wok

2 tablespoons neutral oil

4 or 5 dried chillies, cut into pieces

1 ½ teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns, lightly crushed

3 garlic cloves, sliced

3cm fresh ginger, julienned

5 spring onions, cut into 4cm lengths, keep whites and greens separat

½ red capsicum & ½ green capsicum, sliced

½ cup unsalted roasted cashew nus

Method

Step 1

Toss the chicken with soy, Shaoxing, sesame oil, cornflour and a good pinch of white pepper. Set aside for 15 – 20 minutes.

Step 2

Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Step 3

Heat your wok to smoking hot. Add a little oil and fry the chicken in batches until browned and slightly charred around the edges. Don’t fuss with it too much, you want colour. Remove.

Step 4

Add remaining oil, then the dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. Fry for about 20 seconds until fragrant. Don’t burn them or they’ll become bitter.

Step 5

Add garlic, ginger and fry for a few seconds. Then add sliced capsicum and the white parts of the spring onion. Toss quickly.

Step 6

Return the chicken to the wok. Give the sauce another stir, pour it around the hot sides of the wok. Toss hard for 30 – 60 seconds until glossy and clinging to the chicken.

Step 7

Throw in the cashew nuts and remaining green onions. Toss once or twice and remove from the heat.

Clarissa Feildel Chef

As an accomplished cook, author and television presenter Clarissa Feildel has always had food at the heart of everything she does. Clarissa’s Nyonya/Chinese and Sri Lankan background has given her a melting pot of dishes in her repertoire, which she uses every day when feeding her family.