Place all of the marinade ingredients into a large bowl and mix together.
1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 red chilli, 1 tbsp chilli sauce, 2 garlic cloves, 4 tbsp brown sugar, 3 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp malt vinegar, 1 tbsp tamarind paste, 1 tbsp fish sauce, pinch white pepper
Add one third of the marinade to the chicken, then cover with cling film and marinade for at least an hour (or up to overnight).
3 medium sized chicken breasts
Cook your rice as per the pack instructions (or use my no-fail boiled rice tutorial).
boiled long grain rice
Whilst the rice is cooking, heat the oil on a high heat in a wok or large frying pan/skillet until hot. Scoop the chicken out of the marinade with a slotted spoon and cook in the wok until slightly browned, and almost cooked right through.
1 tbsp oil
Add in the chopped onion and cook for a further 2 minutes to soften the onion slightly.
1 medium white onion
Add in the reserved marinade and heat through whilst stirring until bubbling throughout.
Add in the peppers, mangetout (snow peas) and dried chillies. Cook for a minute, then stir through the spring onions (scallions). Add a splash of water to the sauce if it needs loosening up.
1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 85 g (1 cup) mangetout (snow peas), 12 dried arbol chillies, small bunch of spring onions (scallions), splash of water
Check one of the larger pieces of chicken to ensure it’s cooked in the middle. Then turn off the heat.
Take your boiled rice and spoon it into a small lightly oiled bowl (mine is 12cm/4.75" diameter). Push it down firmly with the back of a spoon, then place a serving plate on top and turn the whole thing over. Tap the bowl gently to release the mound of rice. Repeat until you have four plates of rice.
Spoon the firecracker chicken around the rice and then sprinkle the top of the rice with the shichimi powder and the sesame seeds.
1 1/2 tsp shichimi powder, 1 tsp black sesame seeds, 1 tsp white sesame seeds
Top the rice with a wedge of lime and serve!
wedges of lime
Video
Notes
Can I make this ahead?Not really. This stir fry tastes best when eaten right away. This ensures tender chicken and crunchy veggies. You can however, save leftovers if you like. Just cool quickly, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. It makes a lovely salad (with some salad leaves) served cold.Can I scale the recipe up or down?Yes, you can scale the recipe up or down using the same ratios. So to serve 2 people, halve all of the ingredients. To serve 8 people, double all of the ingredients. It will take longer to cook if doubling the recipe as you may need to cook the chicken in two batches.Nutrition info is for one serving of this recipe and does not include the rice.