Gong bao chicken with smashed cucumber salad

Gong bao chicken is a dish of succulent chicken stir-fried with peanuts and spring onions. The kick of chilli, tingle of Sichuan pepper and gentle sweet-sour sauce form a typical Sichuanese combination of flavours and this delicious dish needs little more accompaniment than some plain rice and a simple smashed cucumber salad.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Mix the chicken with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp cornflour, 1 tbsp water and the chicken marinade to fully coat.
2. Hit the cucumber firmly with the base of a pan or a rolling pin all down it's length until completely smashed and split down the middle. Cut crosswise into 2 cm pieces, then mix with 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp oil, the cucumber spices and a pinch each of salt and sugar.
3. Mix 2 tbsp sugar with the remaining 2 tbsp vinegar, remaining 1 tsp cornflour, remaining 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp water to make a sauce.
4. Cook the rice now.
5. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok or large frying pan. When the oil if very hot add the chicken (including all the marinade) and stir-fry over a high heat for
   10 minutes or until cooked through.
6. Add the spring onions and peanuts then cook for
   1 minute or until the spring onions are beginning to soften.
7. Add the sauce and cook for
   1 minute or until there's a thick sauce coating the chicken (adding a splash of water if necessary).
8. Stir in ½ of the Sichuan pepper blend.
9. Serve the gong bae chicken with the rice, smashed cucumber and remaining Sichuan pepper blend to sprinle over at the table.