Sweet and sour chicken with pineapple and jasmine rice

Method

1. Cut the onion and peppers into 2 cm squares and separate the onion layers. Chop the garlic and 10 g ginger, grate the remaining 5 g, and slice the spring onions. Drain the pineapple over a bowl, reserving 120 g juice, and pat the pieces dry. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear and put in the saucepan with 240 g water, without turning on the heat.
2. Mix the chicken with the beaten egg, 7 g soya sauce, grated ginger, pepper and wine, if using. Refrigerate for 10 minutes without adding salt: chicken that has been koshered is already salted. Meanwhile, mix 10 g cornflour into the 120 g pineapple juice, then add the vinegar, sugar and 20 g soya sauce. Taste: sweetness first, then acidity, with salt in the background. Heat the 350 g oil over a medium heat in a deep-sided 18–20 cm saucepan, or a deep-sided 24 cm frying pan, filling no more than one-third of its depth.
3. Start the rice: bring to the boil, cover and cook over a very low heat for 12 minutes, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes and keep covered until serving. Drain the chicken over its bowl, roll in the 55 g cornflour and press to create a craggy coating; discard the raw marinade.
4. For the first fry, heat the oil to 160–165°C: a wooden chopstick dipped into it should be covered with small, steady bubbles. Fry the chicken in two batches for 3–4 minutes per batch, turning the cubes. They should be pale golden with the coating set, and a cube cut in half should be white and juicy at the centre. Set aside on a rack, uncovered, then turn the heat under the oil to high to bring it to 185–190°C.
5. While the oil heats, heat 10 g oil in the wok over a medium heat. Stir-fry the garlic and chopped ginger for 20 seconds, until fragrant but not coloured. Add the tomato purée and stir for 1 minute, until brick-red. Stir the sauce in its bowl, pour into the wok and bubble for 1 minute, stirring: it thickens suddenly, becomes glossy and coats the spatula, leaving a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it. If too thick, add 15 g water; if it tastes flat, add a splash of vinegar or a pinch of sugar. Remove from the heat.
6. For the second fry, heat the oil to 185–190°C: a cube of bread should turn golden in 30 seconds. Return the chicken in two batches for 60–90 seconds per batch. It should come out deep golden, with a crust that sounds dry and crisp when tapped. Drain on the rack and turn off the heat under the oil.
7. Return the wok to a high heat. Add the onion and peppers and stir-fry in the sauce for 60–90 seconds: they become glossy while staying crunchy. Add the pineapple for 30 seconds to warm through, then the chicken, and turn for 20–30 seconds to glaze it. Fluff the rice with a fork and immediately serve the chicken on top, scattered with spring onions, with equal amounts of pineapple and vegetables on each plate.