First and foremost – I am no expert on Chinese cuisine and this dish is probably very far from being authentic. Furthermore, my only experiences with Chinese food are from various Chinese restaurants and takeout, which I understand are all heavily westernized to accommodate out palate. Nevertheless, I am a huge fan of this takeout dish and here’s my version. And I sincerely hope that no Chinese people are offended.

Also, this dish is pretty spicy, so tone down the amount of red pepper flakes if you’re not into that. You can definitely use fresh chili peppers if you have any on hand, but we didn’t have any and dried worked just fine.

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 4 servings / 1.13 EUR per serving / 4.53 EUR for all)

For the meat:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (2.00 EUR)

Good pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

Good pinch of freshly ground black pepper (0.02 EUR)

1 tbsp soy sauce (0.07 EUR)

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (0.13 EUR)

1 tbsp sunflower seed oil (0.01 EUR)

For the stir-fry:

2 tbsp sunflower seed oil, divided (0.03 EUR)

6 garlic cloves (0.20 EUR)

Thumb-sized piece of ginger (0.13 EUR)

1 tsp red pepper flakes (0.07 EUR)

2 onions (0.20 EUR)

2 red bell peppers (0.80 EUR)

Good pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

Good pinch of freshly ground black pepper (0.02 EUR)

½ cup peanuts (0.40 EUR)

For the sauce:

1 tbsp smooth peanut butter (0.13 EUR)

2 tbsp soy sauce (0.13 EUR)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar (0.01 EUR)

2 tsp brown sugar (0.01 EUR)

1 tsp corn starch (0.02 EUR)

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (0.13 EUR)

¾ cups warm water (–)

METHOD:

Cut the meat into cubes and toss it with salt, pepper, soy sauce, sesame and sunflower oil. Allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes, but best overnight. Prep your veggies before you start cooking – mince garlic and ginger and cube onion and bell peppers. Prepare the sauce by whisking together all of the ingredients until smooth.

Place a wok or a deep skillet on medium heat and allow to thoroughly warm up. Add in a bit of oil then fry the meat in two smaller batches for about five minutes until cooked through and slightly crispy.

Remove the chicken from pan and set it aside. Add in remaining oil, minced garlic and ginger and red pepper flakes. Cook for a minute or two while stirring constantly before adding in diced onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the veggies are slightly caramelized. Add in peanuts and return the meat back to your wok. Stir-fry for another minute or two, then pour the sauce over everything. Stir well and cook briefly until the sauce thickens up. Serve immediately over cooked rice.

---

Prvo i osnovno – ja nisam nikakav stručnjak kada je u pitanju kineska kuhinja i ovo je jelo sigurno jako daleko od autentičnog. Osim toga, moja jedina iskustva kada je u pitanju kineska klopa su iz raznih lokalnih kineskih restorana i dostave, za koje mi je sve jasno da su jako pozapadnjačeni kako bi pasali našim okusnim pupoljcima. No neovisno o tome, veliki sam fan ovog popularnog jela i evo vam moja verzija. I također, nadam se da sa time ne vrijeđam Kineze.

Ujedno, imajte na umu kako je ovo jelo dosta ljuto, pa smanjite količinu čilija ako to nije vaša furka. Definitivno možete upotrijebiti i sviježi čili ako ga imate – mi ga nismo imali doma, a sušeni također super funkcionira.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 4 porcije / 8,49 kn po porciji / 33,97 kn za sve)

Za meso:

1 pileća prsa bez kostiju i kože (15,00 kn)

Dobar prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

Dobar prstohvat svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,15 kn)

1 žlica soja sosa (0,50 kn)

1 žlica tostiranog sezamovog ulja (1,00 kn)

1 žlica suncokretovog ulja (0,10 kn)

Za wok:

2 žlice suncokretovog ulja, podijeljene (0,20 kn)

6 češnjeva češnjaka (1,50 kn)

Komad đumbira veličine palca (1,00 kn)

1 žličica sušenog čilija u pahuljicama (0,50 kn)

2 luka (1,50 kn)

2 crvene paprike (6,00 kn)

Dobar prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

Dobar prstohvat svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,15 kn)

½ šalice kikirikija (3,00 kn)

Za umak:

1 žlica glatkog kikiriki maslaca (1,00 kn)

2 žlice soja sosa (1,00 kn)

2 žličice jabučnog octa (0,10 kn)

2 žličice smeđeg šećera (0,10 kn)

1 žličica kukuruznog škroba (0,15 kn)

1 žlica tostiranog sezamovog ulja (1,00 kn)

¾ šalice tople vode (–)

PRIPREMA:

Meso narežite na kockice i pomiješajte sa solju, paprom, soja sosom te sezamovim i suncokretovim uljem. Pustite da odmara barem 30-tak minuta, ali najbolje preko noći. Prije početka kuhanja pripremite si svo povrće. Češnjak i đumbir naribajte, a luk i paprike narežite na kockice. Umak priredite tako da u zdjelici pomiješate sve sastojke da budu glatki.

Wok ili duboku tavu stavite na srednje jaku vatru i pustite da se dobro ugrije. Dodajte malo ulja, pa na njemu ispržite piletinu u dvije manje ture. Trebati će vam oko pet minuta za svaku rundu piletine da bude lijepo hrskava.

Maknite meso iz woka i stavite na stranu. Dodajte preostalo ulje, češnjak, đumbir i čili. Kuhajte minutu-dvije uz neprekidno miješanje da začini dobro zamiriše prije nego li u wok ubacite luk i papriku. Začinite solju i paprom, te pržite da se povrće blago karamelizira. Ubacite kikiriki te meso vratite u wok. Kuhajte još koju minutu te sve podlijte umakom. Dobro primiješajte i samo još kratko prokuhajte da vam se umak zgusne. Poslužite preko kuhane riže.