Notes
If you don't have fennel seeds or Szechuan peppercorns, or a pestle and mortar for that matter, these can easily be substituted with 1 tbsp. Chinese five-spice.
Ingredients
1 carrot, peeled into ribbons
1/2 Chinese cabbage/pointed cabbage, finely sliced
1/2 bulb fennel, finely sliced
juice 1/2 lime
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. Szechuan peppercorns
4 tbsp. cornflour
4 chicken thigh fillets, cut into strips
1 tbsp. light olive oil/vegetable oil
2 tsp. garlic paste/2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. easy chilli/1/2 chilli finely chopped/1 tsp. chilli flakes
3 tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine
3 spring onions, cut into 2-3cm lengths.
Method
Place the carrot, cabbage, fennel, lime juice and sesame oil in a large bowl/salad bowl, toss and set aside.
Place the fennel seeds and Szechuan peppercorns in a pestle and mortar, and crush.
Place the cornflour in a shallow dish big enough for the chicken. Add the fennel seed and Szechuan peppercorn mix and combine. Add the chicken strips and toss to coat.
Add the oil to a frying pan over a medium heat and add the chicken pieces.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is crisp and starting to brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add a drizzle of oil to the hot pan (the cornflour on the chicken will have sucked up all the previous oil), and add the garlic, chilli, rice wine and spring onions and cook until the wine becomes syrupy.
To serve, share the lime and sesame pickled veg between two shallow bowls, top with the crispy chicken and then the spring onions, drizzling over any dressing left in the pan. Delicious!