Start your cooked rice prior to cooking your kung pan, as this is a quick one. Follow the instructions included with your rice.

This is a one-pan dish – it all gets cooked in the same big pan. I used a heavy-based,12-inch skillet with sides about 2 inches high. That was big enough for all the stir frying and for bringing everything together with the sauce. A big, heavy bottomed saucepan will do just as well – as will a large wok if you have one.

Hot and fast are the watchwords for kung pao, so it’s best to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you begin cooking – hot and fast.

Ideally, you want all the ingredients to be at room temperature before you start cooking. That’s especially true for the chicken because it’s only going to get a couple of minutes’ frying over a high heat. If it’s still cold from your refrigerator, it won’t cook quickly enough.

So, for the room temperature chicken, mix the egg whites, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, the cornflour, and salt. I use a little whisk for this to make sure I get a really smooth mixture.

Pour the thickish mix into a good size mixing bowl and add the cubed chicken. Now use your fingers to give the chicken a really thorough coating of the mix.

This process of protectively coating the chicken is sometimes referred to as ‘velveting’. It certainly keeps the chicken juicily tender when it gets stir-fried hot and fast, and it also gives its surface a lovely glossy appearance.

Once the chicken’s prepped, you can get your sauce ready – simply stir all its ingredients together in a bowl. It’s important to use boiling water here because it means the stock cube will dissolve easily, the ground Sichuan peppercorns will soften nicely, and all the other ingredients will get really well combined. Good. You're now all set to start cooking your kung pao. Quickly.

Set you big pan onto a high heat and add the coconut oil. As the oil is heating, give the chicken another good ‘stirring’ with your fingers so that the cubes pick up as much of their ‘velveting’ mix as possible.

When the oil just starts smoking, stir in the chicken. Keep the heat on high and stir fry the chicken for 90 seconds in the fiercely sizzling oil. You want to keep the cubes turning as they fry, and for them to pick up just a hint of a pale – and I mean pale – gold color all over. Take the pan off the heat and, fast as you can, remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and set it aside on a big dinner plate. Try to leave as much oil as possible in the pan.

Return your pan to a high heat. The moment the oil just starts smoking, stir in the peanuts and two-thirds of the sliced chilies. (The remaining third are heading for your kung pao right at the very end of its cooking.)

Stir fry the peanuts and chilies on that high heat for 60 seconds until they just start to take on a little darkening char. Now add the white slices of spring onion, garlic, and ginger.

Keep the heat on high and stir fry the lot for another 60 seconds or so. You’re aiming here for the white slices of onion to just start getting a little char on their outsides. Once that happens, add the green slices of onion and keep stir frying for another 30 seconds on that high heat – just until the green slices start to wilt slightly.

Drop the heat to medium-high and pour in your sauce. Give the pan a gentle stirring so that the sauce gets thoroughly mixed with everything else. Take a little care with your stirring so as not to break up the spring onion and the peanuts.

As soon as the sauce comes up to a brisk bubble, carefully stir in the chicken, all its plate juices, and the remaining third of your bird’s eye chilies. Keep the heat on medium high and let the pan cook at a quick simmer – but not boiling – for its final two minutes. Give the pan a final careful stirring, and that’s it – your kung pao is ready. Serve immediately.

I like to take my still-bubbling, big pan straight from the stove to the table – and let folks help themselves. Immediately.