Sweet Asian Chicken

Serves: 4
Easy
Time: 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 small brown onions, sliced
800g chicken thigh fillet, cut into 3cm pieces
½ cup kecap manis
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin
6 cm knob ginger, julienned (matchsticks)
2 star anise
1 cinnamon quill
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
½ teaspoon ground black peppe
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
2 bunches of bok choy, quartered

METHOD:

1. Place a wok or a large frypan over a high heat. Add the peanut oil and swirl around the wok until it begins to smoke. Working quickly, add the onions and toss until they begin to soften. Add the chicken and cook until golden.

2. Add the kecap manis, soy sauce, mirin, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, Chinese five spice, black and white pepper, sugar, sesame oil and chilli. Reduce heat to low and gently simmer for 20 minutes, adding the sugar snaps for the last 4 minutes of cooking.

3. Just before serving, plunge the bok choy into a pot of boiling water for 90 seconds. Drain well and serve with the caramelised chicken.
   

What the heck is kecap manis? I’m glad you asked! It’s a sweet Indonesian soy sauce available from good supermarkets or your Asian grocer. If your Asian grocer doesn't stock it I would question if they are even Asian.