Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken

5cm (about 2 inch) piece ginger, peeled and finely julienned

6 garlic cloves, halved

5 large dried red chillies, cut into bite-sized pieces

800g (1.7 lb) chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch) mixed 2 tsp water

½ cup Thai basil leaves (alternatively use Italian basil)

steamed rice, to serve

Stir-fry sauce:

3 tbsp Chinese Shaoxing wine

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp dark soy sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

• For the stir-fry sauce, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl.
• Heat half the sesame oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and stir-fry for 20 seconds or until fragrant. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken starts to colour on all sides. Pour in the stir-fry sauce. Mix and reduce the heat to medium. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid and add the cornflour mixture to the chicken. Mix and allow to simmer a further minute or until the sauce has thickened. Stir through the remaining sesame oil and the basil leaves. Remove from heat and serve with steamed rice.