Chicken Chilli Bean Stir Fry with Rice Wine

This little gem is fast becoming one of my all time favorite weekend meals.

One of the great things about this meal is that it only takes approximately 12 minutes to make from scratch.

It’s also very light on the stomach – especially good if you’re going out for the evening.

The first thing to do is to get the rice on the boil – this will take about 12 minutes to cook once it comes to the boil. My preference for rice is  basmati, but you can use any type you like.

Ingredient for the main dish

2 Chicken breasts – diced

Cornflour

Green chilli peppers – hotter if you prefer

Spring onions

5 Spice seasoning – available from most supermarkets

Dash of cumin (optional)

Chilli bean sauce – you may need a chinese supermarket for this item

Black bean chilli sauce (Optional)

Rice wine – again, you may need a chinese supermarket for this item

A good brand of rice wine is Shaohsing

The quantities mentioned in this recipe are for one person, but you can just multiply the quantities for additional people.

Preparation

Combine one desert spoon of cornflour with about 1 mug of water – add to a bowl and then add about 1 teaspoon of five spice and the optional cumin – stir well, then add the chicken pieces. Leave for a minute or two to combine.

Once the rice is under way, get a wok nice and hot add some olive oil or nut oil and then add the chicken pieces, which have been soaked in the cornflour mix.

Warning – be careful because there will be some spitting from the wok when the chicken pieces are added. Use tongues if possible.

Next add the chopped green chilli peppers.

Once the chicken has browned a little, add the chopped spring onions and contine to cook for a couple of minutes, stirring to prevent burning.

Now add a teaspoon of chilli bean sauce, a teaspoon of black chilli bean sauce and continue to stir and cook for a minute or so.

Then add a few good slugs of rice wine, stirring again to mix all the ingredients.

After another minute, add some of the leftover cornflour and 5 spice mix and bring to the boil, stirring to prevent burning.

Finally add the remainder of the cornflour mix and simmer, stirring occasionally until the rice is cooked.

Once the rice is cooked, drain out any remaining water and leave in the pan for a couple of minutes to dry further.

Serve and enjoy.