Peanuts and celery? Good grief Charlie Brown...

Many, many moons ago your humble narrator found himself in Taiwan on a 24-hour stopover.  So what to do but seek out sustenance in a city centre like no other?  Think Blade Runner street scenes but with a bewildering web of overhead wires sans Atari adverts.  A buffet seemed the easiest option given your host's complete lack of any Chinese language.

Plate piled high with known favourites - beef & oyster sauce, tempura chili, red-hot prawns, egg fried rice et cetera - and something unusual caught the eye.  It looked like wok-fried celery and peanuts.  And so it was.  And what a delight!

The recipe below has bulked up the celery and peanut combination with diced chicken thighs to make a wonderful supper.

Beef was tried, but it didn't quite work.  But the relative blandness of chicken marries the fascinating combination of celery and peanuts quite beautifully. Do with this as your imagination allows, but always use chicken thighs, rather than breast.  This is a terrific dish.

To serve four, you will need:

• 250g boneless chicken thighs, roughly cubed or sliced
• pinch of sea salt flakes
• pinch of ground white pepper
• Small handful cornflour, for dusting
• 1 tablespoon rapeseed/groundnut oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 large celery sticks, roughly sliced on the diagonal
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• Generous handful of raw peanuts
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Ready?  Let's go...

• Place the chicken in a large bowl, season with the sea salt and ground white pepper and dust with the cornflour. Mix well to coat and set aside
• Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking and add the oil. Add the garlic and toss for a few seconds to release its aroma. Add the chicken and leave for 20 seconds or so to sear and brown, then flip the pieces over and stir-fry for 2 minutes.  Add peanuts and fry away for another minute
• Add the Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry, then the celery and cook for just under 1 minute until softened but still crisp. Season with the light soy sauce and chilli flakes and mix well
• Season with the toasted sesame oil. Stir well, take off the heat and serve immediately