This delightful dish is a replica of the mouth-watering chilli chicken from Wasabi. It’s my ultimate guilty pleasure, and I find myself longing for it whenever I’m not in London. Determined to experience its incredible flavors during lockdown, I decided to recreate it.

Surprisingly, my homemade version, or what I like to call a ‘Fakeaway’, turned out even better than the original. Unlike the restaurant’s version, which can sometimes be overwhelmingly spicy, my rendition allows me to control the heat to my liking. During a recent visit to Wasabi, I discovered that they had changed their recipe, and I must say, their new version is very disappointing. I highly recommend giving my recipe a try.

Even if you haven’t tried the original, this is a great dish. It’s like a spicy sweet and sour with battered chicken and a sticky spicy sauce.

• 2 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp. ketchup
• 4 tbsp. honey
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. chilli sauce, sweet chilli or Sriracha are good
• Extra chillis chopped, optional
• 2 slices tinned pineapple, chopped into chunks
• 4 tbsp. pineapple juice from the tin
• 1 tbsp. ginger, grated
• 2 garlic, grated
• 80g tin of roasted peppers
• Juice from tinned peppers
• Fried chicken:
• 2 Chicken breasts, diced. I used turkey breast on my second batch and was delicious.
• 2 tbsp. cornflour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 tbsp. plain flour
• Sunflower oil for deep frying
• To serve optional sesame seeds and spring onion.

• Whisk together the liquids; sesame oil, rice wine, ketchup, honey, brown sugar, chilli sauce, pineapple juice and pepper water.
• If you have a blender place in the ginger and garlic along with extra chilli, if using. Add a spoon full of the liquid and blend to a paste. (If you haven’t got a blender just make sure the ginger and garlic are minced).
• Add the paste to a non stick pan along with the rest of the liquid, let this bubble on a medium heat until thickened slightly. Add the peppers and pineapple and set aside. (You can use fresh peppers if you cannot get tinned, cook them off a little longer in the sauce, add a tbsp. water in replace of the pepper water)

• Fried chicken:
• In separate bowls place an egg; whisked.
• The cornflour in another bowl.
• The final bowl add the plain flour with the paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well.
• Using a wok or a deep sauté pan pour in the oil until around and inch or so deep. Let the oil heat.
• Take a piece of chicken at a time and coat well in the cornflour, then the egg making sure every part is covered. Then into the seasoned flour shaking off any excess.
• Carefully place into the hot oil. Add a few at a time but do not pack out the pan, cook in batches for 3-4 minutes, turning halfway.
• Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto kitchen paper, set aside.
• Once all of the chicken is cooked turn on the heat with the sauce pan, add the chicken to this and coat all of the pieces.
• Serve with rice, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some chopped spring onion.