China: for a Different Ending, She Sometimes Serves the Chicken and Plum Sauce Over Jasmine Rice Instead, With the Same Accompaniments

Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for spiced sticky chicken with plums and pancakes delivers a takeaway-style dish full of spice and flavour, with a homemade plum sauce, to serve with pancakes or rice. Hayden admits an aversion to the term fakeaway, but concedes the dish is 100% based on and inspired by a Chinese takeaway classic: crispy duck pancakes. A real people pleaser that her daughters adore, making this with pan-fried chicken takes next to no time and is the perfect after-school or work quick dinner.

For a different ending, she sometimes serves the chicken and plum sauce over jasmine rice instead, with the same accompaniments. Ingredients: 2 skinless chicken breasts (about 150g each), sea salt, 1 tsp freshly ground white pepper, 1½ tsp Chinese five-spice, groundnut oil, 10cm piece fresh ginger (peeled and finely chopped), 3 plums (halved and stoned, flesh roughly chopped), 2 star anise, 3 tbsp soft dark brown sugar, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 bunch spring onions (trimmed and cut into 5cm strips), ½ cucumber (trimmed and cut into matchsticks), and 12 Chinese-style pancakes. Put the chicken breasts in a bowl and add some sea salt, the white pepper and Chinese five-spice.

Add a drizzle of groundnut oil and toss to coat. Put a medium frying pan on a medium-high heat and add a little more oil. Lay in the chicken breasts, scraping any marinade from the bowl onto the meat too, and cook for about eight minutes until charred.

Flip over the meat and cook for another six to eight minutes until cooked through and gnarly. Transfer the chicken to a plate to rest. Meanwhile, wipe the pan clean and put it back on the hob on a medium heat.

Add two tablespoons of groundnut oil and the chopped ginger, frying for a minute. Add the chopped plums, star anise and four tablespoons of water, then bring to a boil and cook for a couple of minutes until the fruit softens. Add the sugar, rice vinegar and soy sauce, stir well, then bring to a simmer and leave to bubble for five to 10 minutes until sticky and rich; if thickening but plums haven’t softened enough, add a splash more water.

When ready, slice and shred the chicken onto a platter. Warm the pancakes, then serve with chicken, sliced spring onions, cucumber and sauce on the side.