Ken Hom! Ken Hom!

I had been looking forward to this book for a while. I remember watching Ken Hom's cooking shows on TV with my mother and father when I was a kid.

Then...

Now. The amazing thing is, I didn't age in the meantime.

He basically did for Chinese cooking what Madhur Jaffrey did for Indian cooking in the UK. The book I cooked from is in fact the book from the BBC series:

Can you see the BBC logo in the top RH corner?

The recipe I chose was Shredded Chicken with Sesame Seeds, from the Sichuan region. (Hom says style of the dish is the 'Western' school: 'The distinguishing aspect of the culinary style is its reliance on very strong flavourings and hot spices'.) 

First things first. Cut the chicken into strips and mix with egg whites and cornflour, and put in the fridge for a few minutes. Why, I have no idea:

Then fry them for a minute and put aside to drain, while whisking together all the lovely sauce ingredients such as soy, Chinese black vinegar, chilli bean sauce, sesame oil, sugar, sherry, french onions:

Stir fry the sesame seeds (not pictured, because I had to be very careful not to burn them), then add the sauce and boil it down, and then put the chicken back in:

"Quick, take the picture before it all burns!"

Meanwhile, as a side, we had stir-fried broccoli with Hoisin Sauce. Separate the broccoli into florets and peel and slice the stems:

Was this really worth it?

 Then blanch the broccoli:

I can't even see the stem pieces.

Stir fry with garlic, and add hoisin sauce and water:

With rice, this made a delicious meal:

Sweet, tangy, not overly spicy (if anything, a little too tame?). Also, because the chicken was drained after being stir-fried, it wasn't too oily. A real success, and a dish to add to our normal rotation.