| 500g chicken breast fillet | extra ¼ teaspoon five spice powder |
| 4 tablespoons cornflour | ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper |
| 1 teaspoon salt | 1 teaspoon arrowroot |
| ½ teaspoon five spice powder | 1 tablespoon cold water |
| ½ cup chicken stock | ½ cup oil for frying |
| ½ teaspoon sugar | 5-10 small dried red chillies, seeded |
| 1 tablespoon light soy sauce | 1 clove garlic, finely chopped |
| ½ teaspoon sesame oil | 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger |
| 1 teaspoon vinegar | 4 spring onions, chopped in 5cm (2") lengths |
| 2 teaspoons Chinese wine or dry sherry |
Slice chicken fillets into bite-size pieces. Mix together the cornflour, salt and five spice powder and toss the chicken pieces in the mixture, then dust off excess cornflour. Mix stock, sugar, soy, sesame oil, vinegar, wine, five spice and pepper together. In another small bowl, mix the arrowroot and cold water.
Heat the oil in a wok and when very hot, add chicken pieces, a third at a time, and fry on high heat, tossing chicken to brown it all over. As each batch is fried, remove and drain on kitchen towels, allowing oil to return to heat before adding next batch.
When all the chicken has been fried, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add chillies, garlic and ginger and fry until garlic and ginger are golden and chillies turn dark. Add spring onions and toss for a few seconds, then add the stock mixture and arrowroot, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens, but taking care not to let it boil.
Add chicken and toss to heat through. Serve immediately with jasmine rice and steamed bok choy.
Serves 4