Chilli chicken

This is a take on an Indo-Chinese classic. Spicy, sweet and deeply savoury, everything you want from a meal!

25 MINUTES + MARINATING | SERVES 4 | EASY 400g, each cut into 4

chicken thigh fillets soy sauce 2 tbsp

black peppercorns cornflour 5 tbsp

sunflower oil for shallow frying

sea salt flakes steamed rice to serve SAUCE

sunflower oil 1 tbsp

onion 1, chopped

green peppers 2, chopped

red chillies 2, thinly sliced

green chillies 2, thinly sliced

garlic 4 cloves, finely chopped

soy sauce 3 tbsp

runny honey 1½ tbsp

rice vinegar 1½ tbsp

cornflour 3 tsp ground to make ½ tsp

Tip the chicken into a bowl with the soy and black pepper, and mix well. Marinate for at least 30 minutes but longer if you have time. Drain off any liquid into a small bowl, then toss in the cornflour and mix well.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over a high heat and stir-fry the onion and peppers for 5 minutes until charred at the edges and beginning to soften.

Tip in the chillies and garlic, and cook for a minute more. Remove from the heat and add the soy, as well as any drained liquid from the marinated chicken, the honey and rice vinegar. Mix the cornflour with 100ml of cold water, then tip into the pan. Put back over a medium heat, mix and reduce for 8-10 minutes or until saucy. Keep warm.

Fill a deep frying pan with 1cm of oil and heat over a mediumhigh heat. Fry the chicken pieces, in batches, for 5 minutes on each side until really crisp and golden, then drain onto kitchen paper and season with sea salt flakes.

Tip the crispy chicken into the sauce and toss to coat. Serve with lots of steamed rice.

PER SERVING 353 kcals | fat 11G saturates 2.5G | carbs 38.7G | sugars 15.6G fibre 2.8G | protein 23.4G | salt 2.8G