Takeaway to make at home

The Step Up group at Carrickfergus Cookery school, Carrick YMCA, enjoyed making this popular honey chilli chicken recipe, and were amazed at how easy it was to make, and how fresh it tasted. Remember you can always add more or less chilli depending on how you like it!

Honey chilli chicken

Serves 3

200ml vegetable oil

2 large chicken breasts

50g plain flour

Salt and black pepper

1 tbsp sweet chilli dipping sauce

2 tsp soy sauce

80ml water

Juice of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons cornflour

2 tablespoons honey

A thumb sized piece of ginger

A handful of spring onions

1 large red chilli (or more for extra heat)

1. Cut chicken into strips, quite thinly, add some rock salt, black pepper and the flour to a bowl - coat the chicken. Set aside.

2. Finely slice ginger, cut the chilli into thin strips and remove the seeds.

3. Get a wok and heat the oil. You’ll want a good amount to deep fry the chicken.

4. Meanwhile, make the sauce: juice the lemon into a cup or bowl, add the chilli dipping sauce and soy sauce. Stir the cornflour into 25ml of the water and then add the remaining water. Add the diluted cornflour to the sauce and stir together. Leave to one side.

5. Fry the chicken in batches for a few minutes in the hot oil until golden brown and remove to drain on paper towels. Repeat with all the chicken.

6. Discard all but about a tablespoon of the oil from the wok and gently fry the ginger and sliced chilli for a minute or so.

7. Add the honey to the wok and stir whilst it is bubbling away for another minute. Then add the sauce. Keep stirring and bring to the boil, the sauce will thicken.

8. Add chicken to wok to heat through for a few minutes, toss in sauce to coat. Slice spring onions into diagonals and throw in the wok for the last minute. serve with rice or noodles.