Chinese Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
1 pound chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
vegetable oil for shallow frying, plus 1 tbsp extra
Black pepper sauce:
1 tbsp whole Sichuan peppercorns
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1/4 cup oyster sauce
2 tbsp Chinese Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sweet dark soy sauce
Marinade:
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, finely grated
Directions
Combine the chicken with the marinade ingredients. Set aside for later.
Place the Sichuan peppercorns in a dry frying pan over high heat. Cook, shaking the pan, for 2 minutes or until the peppercorns are fragrant and just starting to smoke. Transfer to a mortar along with the black peppercorns. Grind to a fine powder.
Mix 1 tbsp of the peppercorn powder with the oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine and sweet dark soy sauce. Keep the remaining peppercorn powder in an air-tight container and use to season anything from pan-fried chicken to grilled prawns.
Add about a centimetre of oil to the base of a wok or frying pan over high heat. When the oil is hot, toss half the marinated chicken in the corn flour and cook in the oil for 3-4 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drain on paper towel. Repeat with the remaining chicken and flour.
Heat the 1 tablespoon of oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat. Add the onion and capsicum and stir-fry for a minute. Add the chicken and the peppercorn sauce and stir-fry until well combined. Serve immediately.
