GARLIC CHICKEN AND CHINESE GREENS

A long time ago my mum and dad used to own an Asian restaurant in a small rural town in the South of Germany. That's the sort of food I grew up with and never appreciated as a child and teenager.

Ever since they moved on to new things it is my dad's cooking I crave. I miss coming home after school and ordering Shanghai Duck with the best steamed rice ever and topped with crispy rice noodles. I miss spicy and sour king prawn fried rice with a side of iced cucumber and the fact that I could always just wander down to the restaurant and "shop" for any ingredients I wanted to get for my own cooking.

More recently I've been pestering my dad for advice on how to cook Chinese food at home. How to steam, how to make the perfect fried rice and how to put together my own curry sauce. Slowly but surely I have started to master certain dishes and Chinese food has become a great part of our day to day meals.

Just like my dad I am a massive hater of frying food - deep or shallow, I hate it. While dad hates the smell and mess I am mortified of the hot splashing oil, fires or hurting myself.

So when I made garlic chicken the other day I made it very clear to Mat that he should savour every last bite as I am never making it again. (To tell you the truth I might try it again because it was so terribly yummy ;)

So here you have it; deliciously tender, crispy and fragrant garlic chicken and Chinese greens.

Enjoy!








SERVES 3-4
PREPARATION 10mins
COOKS 30mins

INGREDIENTS

• 4 chicken thigh fillets or 3 chicken breasts, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced
• 4 spring onions, bruised and diagonally sliced
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 3tbsp corn flour
• 1tbsp fish sauce
• 1tbsp light soy sauce
• 2tbps shaoxing wine
• salt and pepper to season
• sunflower oil

For the Pak Choi

• 2 bulbs of pak choi, chopped
• 100g mange tout, sliced diagonally
• 1tbsp soy sauce
• 1tsp brown sugar
• 1tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 garlic clove finely sliced
• 1 cm piece of ginger, peeled and very finely sliced

PREPARATION METHOD

1. Season the corn flour with plenty of salt and pepper. Roll your chicken in the flower and dust off any excess flour.
2. Fill a wok (or large frying pan) with about 1.5-2cm of oil and place on a high heat. Once really hot start frying the chicken in batches for about 3-5 minutes each side, until golden on the outside and cooked on the inside. Transfer onto a kitchen towel to soak up any excess oil. 
3. Once the chicken is cooked, clean your pan. Add a little oil and transfer to a medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli and fry for a couple of minutes until the garlic has started to soften. Add the Shaoxing wine and cook for a couple of minutes until it's reduced by half. Add the spring onions, soy sauce, sugar and fish sauce and cook until the sugar has dissolved. 
4. Add the chicken to the sauce and stir until well coated. Transfer to a warm bowl and set aside.
5. Wipe your wok and heat a little oil over a medium to high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for a few minutes til soft. Add the soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar and cook until the sugar has dissolved.
6. Mix in the mange tout and pak choi and cook for a further five minutes until the vegetables are cooked but still crunchy. Taste for seasoning and serve alongside the chicken.