Serves
2
Cooking time
20 mins
Ingredients
1 chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 egg white
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp Chinese rice wine or sherry (optional)
4 spring onions, sliced
half a red pepper, sliced
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tomato, cut into wedges
half a cup fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks
For the sauce:
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 and a half tbsp rice vinegar
1 and a half tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp fresh orange juice
groundnut oil for frying
Method:
Make this sweet and sour chicken recipe and you will never eat that luminous gloop from the take-away again! You can also make it with pork or prawns.
Start by ‘velveting’ the chicken (see cook’s tip). To do this, put the chicken, egg white, cornflour and rice wine, if using, into aa small bowl. Mix really well and leave to marinate at room temperature while you get everything else ready. Don’t put it in the fridge or it will harden.
In another bowl, mix up the sauce ingredients along with 2 tbsp of water. Set aside.
Heat about 100ml groundnut oil in a wok until smoking. Fry the chicken in batches until nice and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Pour out all but about a tablespoonful or so of the oil. Bring back up to heat and stir fry the spring onions, peppers, carrots, garlic and ginger for a few minutes. Add the tomato and pineapple and fry for a few minutes more. Next, add the sauce and bring to the boil. Return the chicken to the wok and allow to bubble for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and everything is cooked through.
Serve with steamed rice.