Lower calorie kung pao chicken

Variation, restaurant style: 100 g of peanuts lightly fried in the oil for a minute before the aromatics, chicken thighs instead of breast, and 45 g of peanut oil.

Chop the chicken breast into roughly half inch cubes and mix with the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, cornstarch and salt; set aside.

Mix the water, honey, black vinegar, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and cornstarch into a stir fry sauce until cloudy; set aside.

Snip the dried chilies into pieces with scissors so the seeds fall out, measure the Sichuan peppercorns and remove their seeds, keeping only the husks.

Thinly slice the garlic, grate the ginger, cut the scallions into chunks and cut the water chestnuts to the size of the peanuts; lay everything out on a baking sheet.

Toast the peanuts in the hot dry wok about 60 seconds, then set aside.

Add the peanut oil to the hot wok, then the dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns for about five seconds, being careful not to burn them.

Add the marinated chicken and stir 45 to 60 seconds until the exterior is cooked.

Add the garlic, grated ginger and scallion and stir fry another 60 seconds or so, then the peanuts for another 30 seconds.

Add the stir fry sauce and mix continuously until smooth and glossy, then turn off the heat; thin with a spoonful of water if the cornstarch clumps, and sprinkle in a little MSG.