Put your phone down! This recipe recreates a classic takeaway fave rave that moves from stovetop to table in the time it takes for a home delivery to arrive – and costs less than half the price too!
Ingredients (serves 4)
For the sauce:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
150ml tomato ketchup
2 tbsp malt vinegar
2 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar
400g canned pineapple chunks in juice
For the chicken:
3-4 large, skinless chicken thigh fillets (around 400g in total), chopped into bite-size chunks
3 tbsp cornflour
90g plain flour
1 heaped tsp five spice powder
2 eggs
5 tbsp vegetable oil
To serve: steamed rice; spring onions (peeled and sliced)
Method
Start by making the sauce: heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-to-high heat, add the onion and peppers and sauté for 3-4 minutes until the onions start to turn translucent. Add the garlic and ginger pastes and continue to sauté for another minute before adding the tomato ketchup, vinegar, dark brown sugar and the pineapple (including the juice). Stir well, bring to the boil, then simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Keep warm over a very low heat while you prepare the chicken:
Tip the cornflour into a shallow bowl, beat the eggs in a second shallow bowl, mix the flour and five spice powder together in a third shallow bowl then line all the bowls up.
Dredge the chicken pieces first into the cornflour, then into the beaten egg then into the seasoned flour, making sure every piece of chicken gets thoroughly coated in each component.
Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan until very hot then add the chicken pieces and fry for 6-7 minutes, turning two or three times until crispy and brown (you may want to do this in batches so as not to crowd the pan), removing the cooked chicken from the pan and placing in a bowl lined with kitchen paper as you go.
Transfer the cooked crispy chicken to the sauce and gently toss to coat.
Serve immediately with steamed rice and a sprinkling of sliced spring onions. Chopsticks? Oh go on, give ‘em a go!