Battered sweet & sour chicken

• skinless, boneless chicken breasts↗2-3 large

  (about 400g/14oz total weight)

• soy sauce↗1 tbsp tbsp
• sesame oil↗2 tsp tsp
• groundnut or sunflower oil↗

  for deep frying, plus extra for stir-frying

• batter

  (see below)

• red pepper↗1small

  cored, deseeded and roughly chopped

• carrot↗1medium

  sliced thinly on the diagonal

• garlic cloves↗2fat

  chopped

• finely chopped fresh root ginger2 tsp tsp
• soy sauce↗3 tbsp tbsp
• white wine vinegar↗3 tbsp tbsp
• sherry↗3 tbsp tbsp
• light soft brown sugar↗1 tbsp tbsp
• cornflour↗1 tsp tsp

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Cut the chicken into small chunks and mix with the soy sauce and sesame oil. In a jug or bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients with 100ml cold water. Line a large plate with kitchen paper.

2. 2

   Heat the groundnut oil in a deep-fat fryer to about 180C. Then dip a few chunks of chicken at a time into the batter, then place in the hot oil using tongs or a slotted spoon, but don’t crowd the pan. Fry until crisp and golden – about 2 mins. You may need to do this in batches, so reheat the oil each time. As the chunks cook, lift out with tongs/spoon to the paper-lined plate to drain.

3. 3

   Heat a wok to hot, add about 3 tbsp oil and stir-fry the vegetables with the garlic and ginger for about 3 mins. Give the sauce a quick final stir and pour into the wok, mixing as it cooks to a light glossy sauce. Bubble for 1 min, then spoon over the chicken and serve.