Sweet and Sour Chicken

I tested a few recipes and finally nailed this classic Chinese dish. I think the key was to use the syrup from the canned pineapple and ketchup, rather than making it from fresh tomatoes or bottled tomato sauce. I know I advocate fresh ingredients but these ingredients make a big difference. Give it a try!

Ingredients (Yields 2 to 3 servings):

3 chicken breast, 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 0.5 tsp baking powder, 1 egg, 1 tsp water, 0.25 tsp ginger powder, 0.25 tsp paprika, 0.25 tsp chili powder, 1 tb olive oil, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 small onion, 1 green bell pepper, 1.5 cups canned pineapple chunks (reserve 1 cup of the syrup), 1 cup ketchup, 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce and 1 tsp dried parsley.

Salt, hot sauce, ground black pepper to taste.

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Procedures:

1. Cut chicken breast to 1-inch cubes. Season with ginger powder, paprika, chili powder and black pepper to taste

2. In a large bowl, mix all purpose flour, baking powder and salt to taste

3. In a medium size bowl, break and whisk egg with water. Mix hot sauce if you wish

4. Heat a wok over medium heat. Test the oil with a bamboo skewer. If the oil bubbles around the skewer, the oil is ready for deep-frying

5. Cover chicken in egg wash and then dust it with the flour mixture, one chunk at a time. Gently shake off excess flour

6. Gently place chicken chunks in the wok, one at a time. Do not crowd the wok as this would cause chicken pieces to stick to each other

7. Fry for 4 mins. Flip the pieces with a kitchen spider and cook for another 4 mins or until the pieces are golden brown

8. Scoop up the pieces with the kitchen spider, drain any excess oil and place them on a plate covered with paper towels

9. Continue cooking the rest of the chicken

10. Cut onion and green bell pepper into bite size chunks

11. Heat olive oil in a medium size saucepan over medium heat

12. Stir in minced garlic and onion slices. Cook until they turn translucent

13. Add green bell pepper slices and drained pineapple chunks. Cook for another min

14. Stir in the syrup, oyster sauce, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt, black pepper and dried parsley. Add hot sauce if you wish

15. Cook for another 5 mins or until the sauce is thick and bubbly

16. Serve chicken with the sauce and rice

Tips:

1. Feel free to add more veg like carrots, zucchini, fresh tomatoes and celery

2. You can substitute the meat with beef, pork, fish or shrimps

3. Adjust the amount of syrup or ketchup to your preference

Fried chicken on paper towels to soak up excess oil

Sweet and sour sauce

Sweet and sour chicken with rice and veg