Ingredients
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (add more if you like it spicier; 2 is “medium spicy”)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut 1/4 inch dice
1/3 cup dry white sherry
Peanut oil, for frying
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
6-8 dried red whole “Thai Bird” chilis
3 scallions, white and green parts, cut into half inch chunks
for the Cups
24 wonton wrappers
1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Directions
First, make your filling. This can be made a day or two ahead of time and heated up before filling the cups.
In a small bowl, combine chicken stock, soy sauce, vinegar, hoisin, Sriracha, sesame oil, sugar, and 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch. Stir until smooth.
In another bowl, toss chicken chunks with sherry and a pinch of salt, and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.
When ready to cook, toss chicken, pour off the sherry and pat dry. Coat evenly with remaining 1/3 cup of cornstarch. Chicken should have a dry coating of cornstarch; add a little more if coating seems moist. In a large skillet over medium heat, bring peanut oil to 325F. Add chicken and cook, stirring often, until chicken is brown on all sides, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.
Pour most of the oil out of the skillet, until only a thin coating remains in the pan. Add garlic and ginger to pan and stir until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add whole chilies, chicken pieces, and scallion pieces, and toss to combine. Add sauce and simmer, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, becomes shiny, and evenly coats chicken.
Next, make your wonton cups. These can also be made a day in advance.
Heat oven to 350F. Melt butter and allow to cool. Brush both sides of a wonton wrapper and a arrange into a mini-muffin tin. The tops will stick over the sides, but this is ok. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Check often as this can happen very quickly. Let cool in the muffin tin.
Fill each cup with a tablespoon of filling and garnish with scallions. You should not fill them until shortly before serving as the filling will make them soggy fairly quickly.
