Chinese Pulled Chicken

We love pulled pork and pulled beef in my house, but I wanted a change and had chicken in the refrigerator, so I thought I could try a really quick version with that instead. Not only does chicken cook quickly but it also shreds more easily if poached than both pork and beef. Serve with salad, rice or noodles and some steamed veggies. It’s great for packed lunches, too. Recipe adapted from Simply Speedy Chinese by Suzie Lee (Quadrille, £24) Photography by Uyen Luu.

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Ingredients

ginger 2 tsp (grated)
garlic cloves 2 tsp (grated)
soy sauce 2 tbsp
chicken stock cube ½ (crumbled)
chicken breast 2
cornflour 1 tbsp
sesame oil 1 tsp
spring onions 12 ¼ (sliced)
red chillies 1 (sliced)
sesame seeds 1 tbsp
carrot 1 (sliced)
cucumber ¼ (sliced)
basmati microwave rice 250 g

Method

Make the dish

Grate the ginger and garlic cloves.
Heat a dash of vegetable oil in a small saucepan over a high heat and fry the garlic and ginger for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
Add the soy sauce, chicken stock cube and a pinch of white pepper, then add the chicken breasts and flip them around to coat thoroughly in the seasonings.
Add 200ml water cover and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 10 minutes, then flip the chicken and cook for a further 10 minutes before removing from the heat.
Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pan and use two forks to shred the meat.
Mix the cornflour with a couple tablespoons of water, then add to the cooking liquid in the pan and stir it through, then bring to the boil and cook until the sauce thickens.
Toss the chicken through the sauce until it is well coated, then drizzle in the sesame oil.

Make the salad & cook the rice

While the chicken is cooking, slice the spring onions and red chillies. Toast the sesame seeds. For the side salad - slice the carrot and cucumber.
Cook the basmati microwave rice according to the packet instructions.
Serve the Chinese pulled chicken sprinkled with sesame seeds, spring onions and chillies. Serve alongside the side salad and rice.

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