General Tso’s Chicken

Chicken

• boneless chicken thighs700 g
• light soy sauce1 tbsp
• Shaoxing wine1 tbsp
• eggs1
• cornflour120 g
• sunflower oil

Sauce

• chicken stock120 ml
• Chinkiang vinegar3 tbsp
• light soy sauce2 tbsp
• dark soy sauce1 tsp
• caster sugar3 tbsp
• Shaoxing wine1 tbsp
• cornflour2 tsp
• vegetable oil1 tbsp
• dried red chillies8
• garlic3 cloves
• fresh ginger1 tbsp
• spring onions4
• toasted sesame oil1 tsp
• water2 tbsp

To serve

• jasmine rice300 g
• broccoli (optional)300 g

Chicken

1. 01

   Cut the boneless chicken thighs into 3 cm pieces, toss them with the tablespoon of light soy sauce and the tablespoon of Shaoxing wine and leave them in the fridge for 15 minutes; meanwhile, rinse the jasmine rice and put it on to cook. Beat the egg and stir it into the chicken until every piece is slick with it.

2. 02

   Put the cornflour in a wide bowl. Lift the chicken out a few pieces at a time, press each one into the cornflour and squeeze it so the coating clings in ridges rather than lying flat; those ridges are what the glaze clings to later. Shake off whatever is loose and leave the pieces on a rack for 5 minutes, until the coating looks damp rather than powdery.

3. 03

   Heat 5 cm of sunflower oil in a deep, heavy pan, no more than a third full, to 180°C. Fry the chicken in three batches, 4 to 5 minutes each, turning once, until the crust is deep gold and taps hard against a spoon and the chicken is cooked through, with no pink in the middle of a cut piece. Lift each batch onto a rack rather than kitchen paper so the steam can escape from underneath.

Sauce

4. 04

   Stir the chicken stock, Chinkiang vinegar, both soy sauces, sugar and Shaoxing wine together in a bowl. Mix the 2 tsp cornflour with the water to a slurry. Halve the dried chillies, finely chop the garlic and ginger and slice the spring onions, and set them, the slurry and a warm serving dish within reach. If serving broccoli, cut it into florets and steam them for 4 minutes. What follows takes 2 minutes.

5. 05

   Put a wok over medium heat with the tablespoon of oil and fry the dried chillies for 20 to 30 seconds, until they smell toasted and have darkened by a shade. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for another 20 seconds.

6. 06

   Pour in the sauce, turn the heat up and let it boil for 1 minute, then stir the slurry again and add it. Keep it bubbling until a spoon drawn across the bottom of the wok leaves a line that closes slowly behind it.

7. 07

   Tip in the chicken and the spring onions and toss for 15 to 20 seconds, until every piece is coated. Stir in the sesame oil off the heat and carry it to the table with the jasmine rice and the broccoli, if using.