spicy chicken with honey

I like trying new things. Once in a while I find a gem of a recipe, and that really makes my day.

So I was poring through my copy of "A Taste of Home" by Andrew Kow, which I bought at the nearby supermarket last Saturday. I saw this recipe that largely made no sense. I think it was because what I was trying to decipher had been translated (rather badly) from Mandarin so I had to read and re-read the recipe and filled in lots of missing blanks before it made any sense.

The recipe caught my eye because, well it is a chicken recipe, and I am always looking for new ways to cook chicken. And also because I still had half a packet of dried chilli from cooking Three Cups Chicken a few weeks ago. I like finding ways to finish using up stuff in my pantry.

I should have started by removing the skin from the boneless thighs (I left the skin on because the recipe did not state that I needed to remove the skin, but I feel that the skin adds a strange slimy quality to the texture, so I highly recommend removing the skin first!) and chopping the meat into bite-sized pieces.

In a bowl, place the chicken pieces. Add salt, light soy sauce, ginger juice, Shaoxing wine, sugar, egg white and tapioca flour before mixing well. Cover the bowl with cling film and allow the chicken to continue to marinate in the fridge.

After an hour, fry the chicken in batches in hot oil until they turn golden brown. Drain the cooked chicken pieces on paper towels.

The chicken was already really yummy at this stage, so if I had wanted to I could have served this for dinner!

But I really wanted to use up the dried chilli, so we shall continue to Part 2 of this recipe.

In a bowl, I combined light soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, Worcestershire sauce, Shaoxing wine and dark soy sauce. This was set aside.

In a heated wok, I fried the dried chilli until they were fragrant. Do this on low heat because the chilli tends to burn pretty quickly.

I added the chicken and stirred to combine.

Then the seasoning and water were added and I gave it all a quick stir so that all the chicken pieces were coated.

Finally, I thicken the sauce with the tapioca flour slurry and the dish was done.

I like this dish a lot - it is a bit sweet, a bit spicy (but does not burn), and a bit salty. I could taste a hint of ginger and together, the sauces really make a nice combination.

It is definitely a keeper!

RECIPE
Spicy Chicken With Honey (Serves 4)
Adapted from recipe from "A Taste of Home" by Andrew Kow 

Ingredients:
4 pieces chicken thigh, skin removed and chopped into bite-sized pieces
10 dried chilli, cut into smaller pieces
5 tbs water
1 tbs tapioca flour, mixed with 2 tbs water to form slurry
2 tbs oil for cooking
Oil for frying

Marinate:
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs light soy
1 tbs ginger juice
1/2 tbs Shaoxing wine
1/2 tsp sugar
2 egg white
3 tbs tapioca flour

Seasoning:
2 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
4 tbs honey
1/2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs Shaoxing wine
1 tbs dark soy sauce

Method:
1. Remove skin from chicken thigh. Chop into bite sized pieces. Place chicken in a bowl, add marinating ingredients and stir to thoroughly combine.
2. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate chicken for an hour.
3. Fry chicken in batches in oil until they become golden brown. Drain and set aside.
4. Combine seasonings in a bowl. Whisk to mix and set aside.
5. In a heated wok, fry dried chilli in oil on low heat until fragrant. Add chicken and stir.
6. Add seasoning and water. Stir to coat chicken.
7. Add tapioca flour slurry to thicken the sauce.
8. Serve immediately.