Chicken & Edamame Stir-Fry with Brown Rice

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 600 g chicken breast, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 200 g tenderstem broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
• 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 200 g frozen edamame, shelled
• 300 g cooked brown rice, to serve
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method

1. Whisk the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar and cornflour together with 2 tablespoons of water until smooth and lump-free. Set the sauce aside — the cornflour is what turns it glossy in the pan later.
2. Pat the sliced chicken dry with kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper. Wet chicken steams instead of searing, and seasoning before the heat means the salt actually penetrates rather than sitting on top.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok over the highest heat your hob will give you — you want it shimmering and just starting to smoke. Lay half the chicken in a single layer and leave it untouched for 2–3 minutes, until the underside is deeply caught and golden. Stir-fry for another minute until just cooked, tip onto a plate, then sear the second half the same way. Don't crowd the wok — all the chicken at once and you'll boil it in its own water rather than catch any colour.
4. Add the broccoli and red pepper to the hot wok and stir-fry for 3 minutes, tossing every 30 seconds or so, until the broccoli is bright green with charred tips and the pepper has softened at the edges but still has bite.
5. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for just 30 seconds, until fragrant and pale gold. Watch it — burnt garlic turns the whole stir-fry bitter, and at this heat it goes from fragrant to scorched in seconds.
6. Return the chicken and any resting juices to the wok along with the edamame. Pour in the sauce and toss everything together over high heat for 1–2 minutes, until the sauce thickens, turns glossy, and clings to every piece. Taste — most of the salt comes from the soy and oyster sauce, but a final crack of black pepper and a pinch more salt if it needs it ties everything together.
7. Spoon the stir-fry over warm brown rice in shallow bowls, scatter generously with sliced spring onions and sesame seeds, and serve immediately while the sauce is still glossy.