Gong Bao Chicken (Kung Pao) with Peanuts

Preparation

1. Mix the cornflour smoothly with the light soy sauce, then stir in the dark soy sauce, vinegar, rice wine, sugar and sesame oil, but no water yet.
2. Pour 1.5 tbsp of this sauce over the chicken, mix well and leave to marinate for 10 to 20 minutes. Stir the water into the remaining sauce.
3. Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. Stir-fry the garlic, ginger and chillies for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
4. Add the chicken and fry until it turns white, then stir in the white parts of the spring onions and cook for about 2 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
5. Add the sauce and Sichuan pepper, bring to the boil and reduce, stirring constantly, almost to a thick syrup.
6. Just before the end, mix in the peanuts and the green parts of the spring onions, check the heat and serve immediately with rice.

Drink with it

• White wine · excellent match

  Riesling Kabinett feinherb, well chilled

  Residual sugar and low alcohol tame the chillies, the acidity meets the black vinegar, and the stone fruit suits the sweet and sour glaze.

  Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing ↗

• Pale lager · excellent match

  Pale lager or Pilsner, ice cold

  Cold, carbonation and a slim body wash away heat and syrup; this is the beer drunk with wok dishes like this in China.

  Pils or Helles: What's the Difference? ↗

• Dark beer · good match

  Dark lager or Schwarzbier

  The roasted malt picks up the roasted peanuts and the dark soy sauce, and the malt sweetness stands up to the sugar glaze.

  Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecue ↗

• London dry gin · good match

  Gin and tonic as a highball, plenty of ice, with lime

  Juniper and citrus meet the lemony side of the Sichuan pepper; ice, tonic and carbonation dilute the alcohol so that it does not fan the heat.

  London Dry Gin: does it have to come from London? ↗