Chicken with Vinegar

The thing I love about cooking anything out of Fuchsia Dunlop's Chinese cookbooks (Sichuan Cookery and The Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook - both of which I highly recommend) is that once you get the main pantry items stocked in your cupboard, you usually need only to buy some type of protein and some fresh spring onions and you can make almost anything in the book.

This one was really nice and had many layers of flavor and a pleasing heat to it. The best part about it was the texture and juiciness of the chicken. The key is to JUST cook it through and it can be so succulent. This one takes no time to throw together and was a winner!

300 g chicken breasts
MARINADE
1-½ teaspoon Shaoxing wine
½ teaspoon salt
BATTER
2 tablespoons egg white
2 tablespoons cornflour
SAUCE
1-½ teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons black Chinese vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon cornflour
3 tablespoons stock or water
3 stalks celery
200 milliliters groundnut oil, for frying
2 tablespoons pickled chilli paste
3 teaspoons ginger, finely chopped
3 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
2 scallion, sliced into tiny rings

Cut the chicken breasts as evenly as possible into 1cm strips and then diagonally into small lozenge shapes. Place in a small bowl and add the marinade ingredients. Set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.

Remove the stringy bits from the celery sticks, slice them in half lengthwise and the chop into small lozenge shapes to match the chicken pieces.

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

Add the bater ingredients to the chicken and mix well, stirring in one directions.

Heat the groundnut oil in a wok over a medium flame to about 100C. Add the chicken, followed closely by the celery, and prod gently with a chopstick to separate the pieces. Keeping an eye on the oil temperature, which shouldn't rise above 90C after the chicken is added, stir very gently until the pieces of chicken have separated and are just turning white. Remove immediately from the wk with a slotted spoon and drain off excess oil. The chicken will still be half raw - resist the temptation to cook it through or you'll find the finished dish less than succulent.

Tip off most of the oil in the wok, leaving behind just two tablespoons. Heat this over a medium flame until hot but not smoking. Add the chilli paste and stir-fry for about 20-30 seconds until the oil is a rich, deep red. Add the ginger and garlic and continue to stir-fry for another 30 seconds until they are cooked and fragrant. Return the chicken and celery to the wok and stir in quickly. Still working swiftly, give the sauce a stir and add to the wok. Fling in the scallions , stir or toss a few more times until everything s well mixed and the sauce has thickened, then turn onto a serving dish. The chicken should be just cooked and very tender - test the largest piece to make sure it's cooked through.