Sweet and sour chicken

Sweet and sour chicken is a chinese takeaway staple, but generally it is greasy, laden with msg, loads of corn flour and who knows what else. My version is a healthier, lighter and delicious version.

The ingredients below will serve 4-5.

Ingredients

600 gms of chicken thigh fillets cut into strips

2 spanish onions sliced

1 green capsicum sliced

1 yellow capsicum sliced

4 small to medium carrots sliced

1 cup of fresh pineapple or 1 small can of pineapple 

6 cloves of garlic minced

Small piece of ginger finely chopped or grated

2 red chilies finely chopped

Juice of 1 orange

Juice of 1 lemon

3 heaped tablespoons of tomato paste

2 tablespoons of black strap molasses

1 tablespoon of raw/ brown sugar

2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (or any other vinegar of your choice)

3 tablespoons of potato flour

3 tablespoons of oil

salt, chilli powder and pepper to taste

Method

Add the chicken strips in a mixing bowl and cover with the three tablespoons of potato flour. I also season the potato flour with a little salt. Once all the chicken strips are coated well, heat a non stick fry pan and add two table spoons of oil. Pan fry the chicken on high heat, cooking both sides, we are not after a lot of colour here. The idea is to seal the chicken and the potato flour helps to crisp it and then also thickens the sauce when added to the vegetable mix. Pan fry all the chicken in small batches ensuring that you never crowd the frying pan.

Once all the chicken has been pan fried, place it on kitchen towel and set aside for later.

In a wok or the same fry pan if it is big enough, add 1 tablespoon of oil. I always start with the carrots first as I like them a bit more cooked than the remaining vegetables, but you can choose to start with the other vegetables or with the ginger, garlic, chilli and onions.

Once, you have given the carrots a 3-5 minute head start, add the other vegetables (reserving the pineapple), stir fry on a high heat stirring occasionally to ensure the vegetables do not burn.

In a small mixing bowl, mix the tomato paste, molasses, vinegar, sugar, salt, chilli powder and pepper with 150 ml of water. Taste, to ensure the sauce is well balanced, if you need to add more of anything adjust it to your liking, though remember the orange and lemon juice are yet to be added. Once the vegetables have softened add the sauce and mix, add the chicken strips and pineapple chunks and ensure they are well coated. Next add the orange juice and simmer the sauce until it thickens and has the right consistency. Take off the heat and add the lemon juice and coriander. Serve immediately as the chicken will go soggy the longer it sits in the sauce.

I choose to serve it with plain rice.