Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken....Since my husband and I love Chinese food, I have often tried to duplicate some dishes at home. Sweet and sour chicken or orange chicken is always a favorite except that you have to keep an eye on the calorie intake. So, every so often when we crave it, I make this BIG batch that I freeze. Since the chicken is deep fried, I have opted to use just a few pieces, add more vegetables and still satisfy the craving.

I love making this recipe as I can freeze it in smaller batches and take it out at a later date. I also love the way it crisps up in the toaster oven before I add the vegetables and sauce. You can vary the sauces to your liking....add orange peel to the sauce to make it orange chicken, ginger, pineapple, garlic, etc . I sometimes opt to use a duck sauce that has pineapple juice in it( store bought) when I don't have the time to make it. But, really there are many good sweet and sour sauce recipes on the net.....You can click Here,Here, Here or Here for some ideas.

In this recipe, I used a simple store bought duck sauce. But, you can make this sauce as well if you plan on making this for a larger group. Hope you enjoy...

NOTE: To really get the chicken extra-crispy, place fried chicken pieces in a 450 deg F oven/toaster oven and bake until outside crust crisps up to your liking... you may need to turn the chicken pieces over once during the baking process. 

Orange sauce:

1/2 cup white vinegar (or rice)

8 oz pineapple can (syrup only)

1/4 cup cornstarch

3/4 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup water

orange peel (1-2 TBS)

Combine 1/4 cup water with 1/4 cup cornstarch set aside. In saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cup water, sugar vinegar, pineapple syrup and orange peel. Heat to boil. Add cornstarch mixture until it thickens.

For the chicken you will need:

8 chicken breasts

2 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper (or more)

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 TBS oil

2 TBS cornstarch

1 egg

2 cups water

2 tsp onion powder (optional)

oil for frying

Directions:

1. Cut up chicken in bite size pieces.

2. Season with pepper, 1/2(or so) tsp salt and 1 tsp onion powder.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp onion powder, baking powder, and cornstarch.

4. Mix oil, egg and water.

5. Incorporate the dry with the wet ingredients to make like a pancake batter.

6. Pour batter over cup up chicken and mix to coat all pieces.

7. Heat oil to about 350. Using a fork, pick up chicken piece and scrape the batter off using the edge of the bowl.

8. Place in hot oil and deep fry until golden.

9. Drain on paper towels. At this point, if you feel the chicken coating isn't as crispy as you like, you may opt to bake it in the oven for a few minutes until the outside crisps up... see NOTE above.

10. You can use the chicken then or let cool and place in small bags and freezer.

11. Defrost and bake in the toaster oven/oven at 45o deg F... till nice and crispy.

Sweet and sour Chicken with vegetables and sauce:

1 bell pepper, diced, any color or a mix

1/2 onion , diced

2-3 garlic cloves sliced or minced

2-3 bunches green onion , cut up in 2 inch pieces

1-2 tsp sesame seeds

2 tsp olive oil

1/3-1/2 cup duck sauce

8- 10 chicken pieces

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil till hot.

2. Add peppers and onion.

3. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes...not too long, you still want them to be crisp.

4. Add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds.

5. Add about 1/2 cup sauce(or more depending how much chicken you add).

6. Cook till hot about 30 seconds or so.

7. Add chicken and mix to coat with sauce.

8. Add green onion.

9. Take off heat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Enjoy!