One of my favourite quick and easy dinners, and way way way more tasty than any Chinese takeaway here in Cairo! I mean unless you’re going to a really authentic and expensive Chinese restaurant, there really isn’t any comparison!
This recipe is adapted from my favourite Asian recipe site and that is Rasa Malaysia! Her recipes are great!
The main difference is that mine doesn’t have the fried battered chicken. I sauté the chicken until browned lightly on the outside yet half cooked on the inside. It’s lighter than the original version yet still tasty.
I also add ginger along with the garlic as I love it’s taste. The final change is in the sauce quantity and proportions, I like a bit more sauce and more sour. You can find the original recipe here.
Calorie wise it’s great too!
The nutrition data below is for 1 serving plus 140gms steamed basmati rice.
Nutrition Data Per Serving
Calories (kcal) 655
Protein (g) 53.0
Carbohydrate (g) 77.8
Fat (g) 14.7
Fibre (g) 2.8
Fruit & Veg 1.6
Enjoy!
Chicken Sweet & Sour
Ingredients:
- 2 large chicken breasts (500 gm) cut in half lengthwise then each half sliced across, not too thinly, creating not too thick rectangular slices.
- 1/2 large green pepper & 1/4 red pepper cut into thick long slices then each slice cut across into sort of a rectangle slice similar to the chicken
- 4 garlic cloves bashed with a knife then chopped, not too fine
- 1 piece of ginger, about 10gms, peeled then thinly sliced, and then chop each slice. Ginger is lovely but there is nothing worse than getting a huge chunk in your mouth!
- 1 small onion, peeled, then halved, then halved across. Take each piece and chop into 3 or 4 pieces. Separate the layers.
- 1 or 2 spring onions, sliced diagonally.
- 3 tsps sunflower oil or other neutral oil.
For the sauce:
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 6 tbsp (90 ml) water
- 1.5 level tsp cornflour (cornstarch )
- 2 tsp plum sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 6 tbsp (105 ml) sweet thai chilli sauce
- 6 tbsp (105 ml) ketchup
- 1/2 to 1 tsp Siracha sauce (it’s really hot, so start off with half and taste first!)
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 0.5 tsp ground white pepper
Method:
– Start off by making the sweet and sour sauce :
Simply whisk in all the sauce ingredients together. I find it’s easier to start off with the thin liquids then add the Cornflour and whisk it in well before adding the heavier sauces (Ketchup, chilli, Oyster and plum sauces). Taste to adjust for sweet, sour or heat. It shouldn’t be too hot. Set aside till needed. The amounts here will make more sauce than you need for this recipe. Just store the excess in a jar for next time.
– Prep your ingredients.
– Heat a large non-stick wok or deep sided non-stick pan on a high heat then add 1 tsp oil.
– When you see the oil ripple and white smoke appears add half the chicken and sear quickly till browned lightly on the outside and still pink in the middle.
Remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken adding another tsp of oil. We cook in batches to sear. Too much chicken at once will just boil it and you’ll end up with tough chicken. Remove to the plate and set aside.
– Add the last tsp of oil and take the heat down to medium.
– Add the sliced onions and give a quick stir, they should just start to catch some color then add the garlic and ginger. Give a few stirs and you should start smelling a lovely aroma.
– Add all the chicken back in, you can increase the heat again now. Give a few stirs.
– Now add half the peppers and give a stir.
– Give a quick whisk to your sauce then Add half of your sweet and sour sauce to the wok/pan and stir to coat all the chicken. If you like it a bit more saucy add a bit more now. I use about 2/3 of the sauce in total.
– Let it bubble a minute and thicken. Add the remaining peppers. Check a piece of the chicken, it should be completely cooked through.
– Turn off the heat and stir in your sliced green onions and serve with steamed rice.
Riham's Messy Kitchen! 