Chicken and prawn stir-fry with black bean sauce and coriander

I can’t claim this is an authentic Chinese recipe. It’s just something I make because the flavours of the black bean sauce, Chinese 5-spice and plenty of chilli appeal to me. I often cook this dish with strips of pork tenderloin, but most popular with my family is this chicken and prawn version. The cooking of the vegetables is a bit arbitrary; all you need to ensure is that they retain plenty of crunch. My stir-fries vary – sometimes I use baby corn, sometimes courgettes. It’s really down to what you have in the fridge.

Serves 6

• 1 x 1.3kg free-range chicken, boned and skinned, or 2 chicken breasts, 2 thighs and 2 drumsticks, boned and skinned
• 45ml sunflower oil
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 10cm root ginger, peeled and sliced or grated
• 2 tbsp black bean sauce
• 1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice
• 60ml Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 30ml soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 2 red chillies, sliced
• 100g green beans, topped and tailed and cut in half
• 100g mangetout
• 100g button mushrooms, sliced
• 100g raw peeled prawns
• 100g bean sprouts
• 1 tbsp cornflour, mixed with a little water
• 30g coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and sliced diagonally

To serve

• Steamed jasmine rice (page 305)
• Chilli oil or soy sauce

Cut the chicken into finger-sized pieces. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a wok over a high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant and golden. Add the black bean sauce, Chinese 5-spice, Shaoxing wine or sherry, soy sauce, salt, sugar and chicken, then fry until the chicken is browned but not fully cooked through. Remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and keep them warm.

Add a little more oil if needed, then the red pepper, chillies, green beans, mangetout and mushrooms. Cook for a minute or so, then put the chicken back in the wok and add the prawns, bean sprouts and 100ml of water. Let the mixture bubble, add the cornflour paste and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened to a silky, clear honey-like consistency that clings to the chicken. Stir in the coriander and spring onions and remove from the heat.

Serve with steamed jasmine rice and chilli oil or soy sauce.

Tip: When making this, keep the chicken bones for stock and the skin for delicious crispy chicken skin snacks.

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