Firecracker Chicken

The sauce is pretty complex, with spicy, sweet, salty and tangy elements so I'm using:

• Spicy: fresh chilli, chilli sauce, white pepper
• Sweet: brown sugar and ketchup
• Salty: light and dark soy sauce and fish sauce
• Tangy: malt vinegar and tamarind paste
• We also have garlic for a tasty and fragrant kick and chicken (I use chicken breast) - as we're going to marinade the chicken in some of that delicious sauce.

• Mix together oil, chopped chilli, chilli sauce, garlic, brown sugar, light & dark soy sauce, ketchup, malt vinegar, tamarind, fish sauce and white pepper.
• Add ⅓ of the sauce to a bowl with the chicken and leave to marinade, covered in the fridge. Reserve the remaining sauce.

• Vegetable oil, crunchy peppers, mangetout (snow peas), onion, dried chillies and spring onions (scallions)
• We're going to serve with rice and garnish with shichimi, sesame seeds and lime.

• Fry the marinated chicken with onion, peppers, mangetout (snow peas) and dried chillies, then add in the reserved sauce.
• Stir through the spring onions (scallions) and cook for a further couple of minutes.

• Lightly oil a small bowl (this one is a 12cm/4.75" diameter cereal bowl). Pack with rice and then push down firmly with a spoon or clean fingers.
• Place a plate on top of the bowl and flip the bowl and plate over.
• Lightly tap the bowl and lift the bowl to release the rice. It can take a couple of attempts, so it's worth having a quick practice first.

• Spoon the firecracker chicken around the rice and then sprinkle with shichimi powder and sesame seeds.
• Top the rice with a wedge of lime and serve!