Bang bang chicken

Ingredients

Scaled for your household (4 portions) · original serves 4

• Chicken breast600 g
  trimmed
• Lebanese cucumber1
• Carrots1
  julienned
• Iceberg lettuce½
  shredded
• Spring onions2
  sliced on the diagonal
• Sichuan peppercorns1 tsp
• Sugar2 tbsp
• Light soy sauce2 tbsp
• Rice wine vinegar2 tbsp
  rice wine vinegar used for catalogue matching
• Tahini70 g
  sesame paste or tahini
• Sesame oil1 tbsp
• Chilli oil sauce1 tbsp
• Salt½ tsp
  for cucumber
• Jasmine rice (optional)1 cup
  to serve

Method

1. 1

   Put the chicken breasts in a saucepan and add enough water to cover them. Bring the water to the boil, cover the pan, then remove it from the heat and leave the chicken to stand until cooked through.

   20 min
2. 2

   Transfer the chicken to a plate and let it cool. Press each breast lightly with the flat side of a knife to loosen the fibres, then shred the meat with your fingers. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

3. 3

   Halve the cucumber lengthways and remove the seeds. Slice it diagonally, toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a colander and leave for 10 minutes. Drain and gently squeeze out excess moisture.

   10 min
4. 4

   Toast the Sichuan peppercorns in a dry frying pan over low heat for about 1 minute, just until fragrant. Grind them to a powder with a mortar and pestle.

   1 min
5. 5

   Whisk the sugar, light soy sauce and rice wine vinegar together. Stir in the tahini, sesame oil, chilli oil and ground Sichuan pepper until the sesame sauce is smooth.

6. 6

   Combine the prepared cucumber with the julienned carrot, shredded iceberg lettuce and sliced spring onions on a serving platter. Arrange the shredded chicken over the vegetables.

7. 7

   Spoon the sesame sauce over the chicken and vegetables. Serve with extra chilli oil and steamed rice if desired.