Jennifer Cheyne’s Spicy Chicken Stir Fry (with wine recommendations from Rose Murray Brown)

Jennifer Cheyne OBE is the entrepreneur behind the successful Cheynes chain of Edinburgh hairdressing salons but it is her work and reputation in training hairdressers that has earned Jennifer international recognition.  She is also known for her generous support of charities and was one of Channel 4’s “Secret Millionaires”.

Jennifer Cheyne’s Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 chicken breasts chopped into small pieces

Spicy pepper

A handful of mushrooms sliced

A red pepper chopped

A green pepper chopped

A handful of asparagus chopped

A few florets of broccoli

2 or 3 tomatoes chopped

A few baby corns chopped

A generous handful of spinach leaves

A small bowl of bean sprouts

A few chunks of pineapple

Oil for frying

Spicy tomato sauce made from finely chopped and cooked tomatoes, a chilli, an onion, a small red pepper and some pimentos picante (medium hot paprika) – or you could buy it.

Method:

1. Sprinkle the chicken with some spice of your choice and fry it in some oil for 5-10 minutes until it is just cooked through.
2. Whilst the chicken is cooking, in a separate pan, fry the mushrooms in some oil.
3. In another pan fry the red and green pepper in some oil and then add the broccoli and asparagus and continue frying for about 5 minutes.
4. Once you have the peppers, broccoli and asparagus frying, add the tomatoes and baby corn in with the chicken and continue frying. (The chicken will have been cooking for about 5 minutes by now.)
5. Add the mushrooms to the chicken, tomatoes and baby corn and keep stirring
6. Put the spinach into the pan you have just emptied the vegetables out of with a little oil and cook for 30 to 60 seconds only.
7. Add the beansprouts and then the cooked spinach to the chicken and vegetables and mix them through.
8. Heat up the tomato sauce and continue stirring and frying the chicken and vegetable mixture for a couple of minutes more, adding more oil if needed.
9. When everything is fully cooked, pour the tomato sauce over the chicken and vegetable mixture and stir it through.
10. Grind some black pepper over the dish and add the pineapple and give it one last stir through before serving.

Rose Murray Brown’s wine recommendations

To match with this spicy chicken stir fry, I would suggest a ripe zesty Albarino from Uruguay.  It is made in Maldonado only 11 miles from the Atlantic coast in the south east of this small wine country at an impressive new winery, Bodega Garzon.  This Albarino has more weight and texture than you would find in a Spanish Albarino (made on the other side of the Atlantic), but it is remarkably fresh and minerally with moderate alcohol at 12.5%.  ALBARINO RESERVE 2021 BODEGA GARZON is @£16 at Exel Wines in Perth, Lockett Bros in North Berwick, Fine Wine Co in Musselburgh, Aitken Wines in Dundee and Luvians in Cupar and St Andrews.

If you would prefer to serve a red wine, I would recommend an easy drinking Gamay from Beaujolais or a ripe juicy Pinot Noir from Chile or New Zealand.