To start put your chicken thighs in a bowl. To the chicken grate fresh garlic then freshly grated ginger. Season the chicken with salt, black paper, dark soy sauce and Chinese cooking wine which is going to tenderize the meat and give it flavour. Stir it up using a spoon to mix. Then add corn starch to the chicken and stir it up. The corn starch will give the chicken a major crunch when it is fried up.

Fill a pot with canola oil for deep frying and preheat it to 375 degrees to get the chicken nice and crispy. Lower each chuck gently and separate them so as not to crowd the pan too much. Cook until they are nice and crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside. Once they are cooked remove them from the pot drain all the extra oil and put them in a bowl that is covered with a paper towel.

Next prepare the other ingredients beginning with an onion that you will slice thinly. Slice the onion lengthwise and separate all the sizes to make sure everything is evenly cooked. Next, tap the clover garlic and then chopped it up. Grate some fresh ginger and chop Thai green chilli finely. Next to make the sauce, add the corn starch to a bowl and add water to it and whisk it to dissolve it and make sure there are no lumps. Then add in chicken stock which will add chicken flavour, dark soy, sugar to add a little bit of sweetness, rice wine vinegar to balance the flavour and add brightness, and salt.

Then whisk the mixture to make the sauce. Add a little bit of canola oil to the base of the pan and start by frying off chillies, ginger and garlic until they are slightly fragrant give it for about 15 seconds and swirl it around in the pan. Next, add in your onions and increase the heat to high. Cook them until they are tender but still slightly crisp and have a gloss to them which will take 30 to 45 seconds. Once they are done transfer them back to the bowl and get the pan ready for the sauce.

Drop the heat to medium-low and whisk up your sauce to get the sauce to be nice and smooth and pour it into the pan. Increase the heat for the sauce to come to a full boil to see the sauce’s thickening potential. Keep stirring the sauce as it heats, scraping the bottom and let it come to a simmer. Once the sauce has reached its max thickening potential add in the onions and chicken. Give it a beautiful toss to coat every bit of that sauce. Once it is done remove it from the heat and give it a taste. You can serve it over hot rice.

Ingredients;

  • 1 lb chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 tbsp, grated fresh Ginger
  • 1/2 tbsp, grated fresh Garlic
  • 1 tsp, Black Pepper
  • 1 tsp, Salt
  • 1 tbsp, Soy Sauce
  • 1 tbsp, Chinese Cooking Wine
  • 4 tbsp, Corn Starch
  • Vegetable Oil for deep frying

For the sauce

  • 2 tbsp Water
  • 1 tbsp, Corn Starch
  • 1/2 cup, Chicken Broth
  • 3 tbsp, Dark Soy Sauce
  • 1 tbsp, Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp, White Sugar
  • Salt to taste

For the vegetables

  • 2 tbsp, Canola/Vegetable Oil
  • 1 medium Onion, sliced
  • 1 tbsp, finely chopped Garlic
  • 1/2 tbsp, grated fresh Ginger
  • 4 Green Chillis, sliced

Instructions;

  1. Pour oil into a deep pan, and preheat to 350 degrees.
  2. In a bowl mix together all ingredients for chicken. When the oil is ready, add chicken one chunk at a time ensuring not to crowd the oil. Cook in batches for 4-5/minutes per batch or until chicken is crispy and cooked through the centre. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.
  3. In a bowl, whisk together water and corn starch. Once dissolved, slowly whisk in chicken broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and salt to taste. Set aside.
  4. In a large frying pan heat oil on medium-high heat. Add garlic, ginger, and chillis, and saute for an additional 15-20 seconds or until all ingredients are fragrant.
  5. Add onion and sauté for 45-60 seconds or until just glossy, but still crisp. Remove from pan and set aside.
  6. Whisk sauce ingredients once more to ensure the corn starch hasn’t settled at the bottom, and pour into pan. Allow to come to a full simmer, stirring consistently until thickened and glossy. Add fried onions and chicken and toss to coat.
  7. Garnish with sliced fresh green chillis, and serve alongside hot rice.