Chicken and Cashew Stir-Fry

Ingredients

• 500 g chicken breast, sliced thin
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 100 g cashews
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 red pepper, cut into squares
• 6 spring onions, cut into lengths
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 20 g ginger, matchsticked
• 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 4 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

Method

1. Velvet the chicken

   Toss the sliced chicken with the cornflour, Shaoxing wine and a pinch of salt. That thin starch coat is what keeps breast meat tender in a screaming-hot wok instead of turning to string.

2. Toast the cashews

   Toast the cashews in the dry wok until patchily gold, then tip them out. They burn in seconds once they start colouring, so do them first and get them out.

   3 min

3. Sear the chicken

   Heat the oil until it shimmers, spread the chicken in a single layer and leave it undisturbed for a minute before tossing. Stirring straight away drops the heat and the meat stews.

   3 min

4. Aromatics and vegetables

   Push the chicken to one side, add the garlic, ginger, pepper and the white parts of the spring onion, and stir-fry for a minute.

   2 min

5. Sauce and finish

   Mix the hoisin, soy and vinegar, pour it down the hot side of the wok so it caramelises on contact, and toss everything with the cashews and spring onion greens. Poured into the middle it just boils.