RECIPE: DICED CHICKEN WITH DRIED CHILLIES

This is one of my favourite stir fries. The best one I have ever had (apart from mine, of course, wink, wink) is from this restaurant on Penang Road in Penang, Malaysia called Wing Lok (?).

Mind you, it has been 16 years since Mr G and I ate there and I am not sure if it is still in existence. If anyone out there can tell us, it would be much appreciated. Anyway, here is my version of the dish.

Sorry about the photo, it turned out fuzzy. By the time I checked it, the meal was eaten and I could not take another pic, could I??? Next time I make the dish, I will put a new photo.

DICED CHICKEN WITH DRIED CHILLIES
Ingredients

800 g chicken breast or thighs – diced
4 whole star anise*
3 tsp black whole peppercorns*
12 dried chillies – torn into two
1 tsp sugar#
6 tbsp light chinese soy sauce#
1 tbsp dark chinese soy sauce#
2 tbsp white vinegar#
1 tbsp chinese rice wine#
2 tsp corn flour#
4 tbsp water#
4 to 5 garlic – minced
½ thumb size ginger – minced
3 spring onions – cut into 3 cm length
1 cup or more salted cashew nuts
Vegetable oil for frying
Few drops of sesame oil

Ingredients from L to R clockwise: cashews, pounded pepper and star anise, garlic (I used only 1/4 of it), dried chillies, spring onions, sauce ingredients, cornflour mixture (which I then blended into the sauce mix) and in the middle, ginger.

Method
Prepare ingredients by:
· cutting chicken into cubes
· pounding * together until fine and set aside
· blending # together and set aside
· mincing garlic and ginger
· tearing chillies into half and discarding seeds if you can’t take hot food

Heat oil in wok till very hot and fry chicken in batches for 2 mins, stirring constantly.

In the same oil, fry the dried chillies, stirring constantly until dark and crispy. Remove from wok. Turn off the heat.

Allow oil to cool for a few minutes, then gently fry * ingredients, garlic and ginger for 1 min. Add blended ingredients (#) and cook for 30 secs. Put chicken and chillies back into the wok and stir for about 2-3 mins to coat and heat the chicken again. Add in the spring onions and cashews, stir well, sprinkle with sesame oil and serve immediately with side dish of veg and rice.

We had stir fried wombok with soy sauce and chinese rice wine.