Five Spice Chicken Stir-fry

Quick and easy to make in 30 minutes and full of the BEST savory, spicy and sweet flavors! Tender chicken pieces, onion, fragrant aromatics and chilies get tossed in a mouthwatering sauce in this Five Spice Chicken Stir-fry!

📝 Ingredients

• 250 grams / 9 ounces Chicken Thigh Fillets, excess fat trimmed, sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1/8 TSP Ground White Pepper
• 1 TSP Potato Starch
• 1/2 TBLS Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
• 1 TSP Shao Xing Rice Wine (substitute dry sherry if unavailable)
• 1/2 TSP Potato Starch
• 1/8 TSP Kosher Salt (use half the amount if using iodized table salt)
• 1/2 TSP Chinese Five Spice Powder (store-bought or homemade – note 1)
• 1 TSP White Sugar (or other sweetener of choice – note 2)
• 1 TBLS Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
• 1 TBLS Shao Xing Rice Wine
• 1/2 TBLS Chinkiang Vinegar (Chinese black vinegar – substitute with half distilled white vinegar and balsamic vinegar if unavailable)
• 1/2 TSP Dark Soy Sauce
• 1/2 TSP Sesame Oil
• 1/2 TSP Pure Chili Oil (optional – without flakes and seeds)
• 3 TBLS Water
• 1/3 medium Yellow Onion – sliced into 1/4-inch wide strips, then sliced in half across the middle
• 2 medium Spring Onions (Scallion/Green Onion) – cut into 1-inch pieces, white and light green parts separated from dark green parts
• 1-inch piece fresh Ginger – julienned (about 2 tablespoons julienned)
• 3 Garlic cloves – minced
• 1 – 3 fresh Red Chilies (Thai Bird’s Eye or any other small hot red chilies), to taste – destemmed, finely chopped
• 3 – 10 Dried Red Chilies (note 3), to taste – snipped into 1/2-inch pieces, seeds shaken out and discarded for milder dish if preferred
• 2 TBLS Peanut Oil (or any other neutral oil with a high smoke point)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Prep: ---
2. 2Marinate the chicken: Clean and trim the chicken thigh fillets and slice into bite-sized pieces. Add to a medium bowl, followed by the ground white pepper, potato starch, low sodium light soy sauce, Shao Xing rice wine and sesame oil. Mix well to coat and set aside.
3. 3Make the sauce: Whisk together the potato starch, kosher salt, Chinese five spice powder, white sugar, low sodium light soy sauce, Shao Xing rice wine, Chinkiang vinegar, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, pure chili oil (if using) and water in a small measuring cup or bowl until thoroughly combined.
4. 4Prepare the rest of the ingredients: Prepare the yellow onion, spring onion, ginger, garlic, fresh red chilies and dried red chilies as indicated in the ‘Ingredients’ section. (Pro-tip: Discard all or some of the seeds from the dried red chilies for a milder flavor. You can also leave them whole to get the aroma without the added heat in the final stir-fry dish.)
5. 5--- For the Five Spice Chicken Stir-fry: ---
6. 6Cook the chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in a large wok over high heat. Once hot, add the marinated chicken and immediately spread the pieces out in the wok. Allow to cook for 30 seconds, then stir-fry for another 30-40 seconds or until 80% cooked. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.
7. 7Stir-fry the onions, ginger and garlic: Heat the oil remaining in the wok over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the yellow onion, spring onion white and light green parts and ginger. Stir-fry for 20 seconds until you can smell the ginger. Add the garlic and stir-fry for another 20 seconds until fragrant.
8. 8Add the chilies: Add the fresh and dried red chilies and stir-fry for 20 seconds to combine.
9. 9Add the chicken and sauce: Add the chicken and all the juices in the bowl. Give the sauce a quick stir with a spoon to loosen up the starch that will have settled at the bottom. Turn the heat up to high and pour the sauce over everything. Stir-fry for a minute, until the sauce thickens and everything is coated well with it. (Note: If the sauce thickens too quickly, you can add a splash of water and continue stir-frying.)
10. 10Toss through spring onion: Toss through the spring onion dark green parts and switch off the heat.
11. 11To Serve: Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately with warm steamed rice, over cooked noodles or zoodles (zucchini noodles) for a low carb option.