How to make the best Chinese Takeaway Style Satay Chicken

 

Ask Yvette, what does Andrew always order from a Chinese takeaway and she'll reply beef satay, a bit hotter, and I always do. And I have been chasing cooking an amazing Chinese style takeaway satay for years, trying sauces including 'Blue Dragon' satay but my attempts have never been as right as a takeaway satay from Wongs.

The difference is Jimmy's satay sauce which is what all takeaways use. Which I finally found at a large Asian supermarket.

This recipe, including this Jimmy's sauce (a jar will last a very long time) and the order it's done in will give you a perfect satay.

In twenty years I've only bought two bottles of Shaosing whisky and rice wine which are about £5 each but are so important in Chinese cuisine.

Anyway marinate your chicken or beef:-

1/2 lb chicken breast strips in a tbl spoon of light soy sauce (light is seasoning, dark is colour) a tbl spoon of Shaosing Whisky, a few drops of sesame oil, this can be left overnight but an hour will do. 

Prep some veg to stir fry, onion and fresh garlic cloves to taste then veg is up to you and what you have, carrot, something green like mangetout or pak choi, peppers, baby sweetcorn. 

Have ready:-

Pineapple chunks, a small tin for this amount.
A tbl spoon of peanut butter
Fresh chillies if you wish
1 large tbl spoon of Jimmy's Sate sauce
Lemon grass stalk cut in half ends removed, remove all before serving, the lemon grass is for fragrance.
Curry powder of your choice 1 tsp
Chinese rice wine tbl spoon 
1 tsp sugar
Salt 1/2 tsp
Half a mug of water

I only use my wok on max heat on the centre of the heat, but have a spray guard gauze thing to cover it.

Times below vary:-

From now it's stir fry time, chicken first till you think the strips are cooked through 4 mins and browned, remove. Add onions, two mins, then veg, two mins, then garlic.

Now add the pineapple chunks and stir fry till they have slightly caught and browned a couple of minutes.

Keep stirring and re-add the chicken, two mins, then the curry powder, one min, then the peanut butter, one min, then the Jimmy, one min, rice wine, sugar, salt water cook for another couple of minutes. serve with rice.