Chicken stir-fry recipe: Garlic and eschallot chicken

Name: Chicken stir-fry recipe: Garlic and eschallot chicken
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 500g chicken thigh fillets, very thinly sliced on an angle; ¼ cup peanut oil; 4 eschallots, peeled and thinly sliced; 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 tbsp dark soy sauce*; pinch of sugar; handful coriander leaves, to garnish

Adam Liaw

August 22, 2016

Wok secrets: Keep it simple with few ingredients.William Meppem

easyTime:< 30 minsServes:4

Flavouring oil is key with wok-cooking: once infused with aromatic ingredients, the oiI carries the flavour around the dish. If you treat a stir-fry like a stew, it will end up tasting like a stew. Don't use it as an excuse to throw everything in your fridge into the wok - two or three ingredients are often quite enough. Next time you break your wok out, keep it simple. Try making three dishes with three ingredients each, rather than one dish with nine.

Ingredients

500g chicken thigh fillets, very thinly sliced on an angle
¼ cup peanut oil
4 eschallots, peeled and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp dark soy sauce*
pinch of sugar
handful coriander leaves, to garnish

For marinade

2 tsp soy sauce (check gluten-free)
2 tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp cornflour (check gluten-free)
pinch of white pepper
*Check sauces are gluten-free if required

Method

1. Combine chicken and marinade ingredients and set aside.
2. Heat the wok over a high heat, then add the oil around the edges so that it coats the wok.
3. Add the eschallots and garlic and fry for about two minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant.
4. Add the chicken and salt and toss until browned and nearly cooked through.
5. Add dark soy sauce and sugar and toss to coat.
6. Remove to a plate, rest for a moment, garnish with coriander and serve.
Adam's tip: The goal of stir-frying is known as wok hei, which means "the spirit of the wok". It's a term that refers to the charry flavour you get from good wok cooking. The best way to achieve it: make sure you never overcrowd your wok.
Suggestion: Serve with Adam's wok-fried scallops and asparagus.