Honey Chicken

Chicken Favourites, p. 42

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) boned chicken breasts, skin on

2 ½ tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)

125g (1 cup) self-rising flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

Peanut oil, for deep-frying, plus 1 tablespoon for stir-frying

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3 x 2 cm (1 ¼ x ¾ inch) piece fresh ginger, finely chopped

4 tablespoons honey

2 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced on the diagonal, to garnish

Cut the chicken into small bite-sized pieces and put them in a bowl with 1 ½ tablespoons of the cornflour.

"Bite-sized" being a relative term, of course.

 Shake to coat well, then leave for 10 minutes.

Appetizing, eh?

In a separate bowl, mix the flour and egg with 310 ml (1 ¼ cups) cold water until you have a loose batter.

Fill a wok with enough oil to deep-fry the chicken pieces. Then heat to 190C (375F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 10 seconds. Dip the chicken in the batter, allowing the excess to drip off. 

"Do What You Can" moment #1: I didn't have self-rising flour, but the regular stuff I had in my cupboard seemed to work just fine.

Fry the chicken in batches until crisp and golden. 

"Do What You Can" Moment #2: Peanut oil is expensive, so I just used vegetable oil

And it seemed to work just dandy.

Drain on paper towels.

Nuggetses!

Mix the soy sauce and remaining cornflour in a small bowl. 

It looks like something delicious, like coffee or chocolate. It is not, however, delicious.

Drain the oil from the wok and wipe the wok clean. Heat the remaining oil, add the ginger and stir-fry for one minute. Add the honey and, when it is heated through, add the chicken pieces and coat well. 

This, for the record, is what fried honey looks like.

Slowly getting sticky-good.

Stir in the soy and cornflour mixture and cook for 1 more minute. Pile into a bowl and garnish with the spring onion. 

Done, and ready to take to Birthdaypalooza!

My Rating: 4/5 "The honey on these chicken pieces is a little slice of wonderful. I'm giving it a 4/5 because fried chicken isn't really my thing, usually, but I'll add the addendum that I took it to a party and it was completely finished by the time I left. That's what I call a testament."