Herbed Sweet N Sour Chicken Food

HERBED SWEET 'N' SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Mix rice and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, until rice is tender.
• In a medium bowl, blend the olive oil, soy sauce, honey, and vinegar. Mix in the thyme, paprika, cayenne pepper, allspice, and black pepper.
• Place chicken breasts in a medium baking dish, and coat with the olive oil mixture.
• Place chicken in the preheated oven, and, basting occasionally with the olive oil mixture, cook 30 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear. Serve over the rice with remaining olive oil mixture.

SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• Set aside ½ cup of pineapple juice from your can of pineapple, and reserve ⅔ cup of the pineapple chunks (if using). Set aside.
• Combine the hot water, salt, sugar, and ketchup. Stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved, and then add the vinegar and pineapple juice (if using). If not using pineapple juice, replace with ½ cup water or chicken stock. Set aside.
• Cut your chicken into uniform 1 inch chunks (for even cooking) and place into a bowl. Add the garlic and onion powders, sesame oil, white pepper and salt. Mix until all pieces are uniformly coated, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Any excess water should be fully absorbed by the chicken. If not, mix the chicken again and let it sit for another 5 minutes.
• Mix together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl, and add 2/3 cup of ice water. Use a fork to mix until a batter is formed, and stir in 1 tablespoon of oil. Set aside.
• The amount of oil you need depends on the size of the pot you will use. Using a larger pot uses more oil, but allows you to cook the chicken in fewer batches. Using a smaller pot uses less oil, but you'll have to fry more batches of chicken. We usually go for a smaller pot, so we have less leftover oil. Heat the oil in a small pot until it reaches 335°F/170°C.
• Place 5 to 6 pieces of marinated chicken into the batter. Use a chopstick, fork, or your fingers to coat the chicken in the batter and place each piece slowly into the oil.
• Use a slotted spoon to carefully turn the chicken so all sides are uniformly fried. Fry for about 2 minutes, or until the batter is a light golden brown and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and let any excess oil drain off before placing onto a rack or paper towel lined plate.
• Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a wok over medium high heat, and add the red onion and peppers. Stir-fry for 30 seconds.
• Next, add the sweet and sour sauce you prepared earlier and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the sauce is simmering.
• Combine the cornstarch and water to make a uniform slurry. While stirring the sweet and sour sauce, drizzle the slurry in gradually until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon (you may not need all of the slurry). Turn down the heat and give the sauce a quick taste--now is the time to add more salt, vinegar or sugar if desired.
• Add the pineapple chunks (if using) and stir until warmed through. Now is the time to refry the chicken to make them nice and crispy. Heat the oil up to 335°F/170°C and fry the chicken in two batches for about 45 seconds each time. Then add the chicken pieces to your sauce, and gently toss with your wok spatula until the chicken is coated. Serve immediately!

SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN - AUTHENTIC CHINESE STYLE

Steps:

• Marinate the chicken with cornstarch, soy sauce, and egg white for about 30 minutes.
• Deep the meat into egg wash and then cornstarch.
• Remove the excess cornstarch and deep-fried the meat until it is crispy and golden brown.
• Heat up some vegetable oil in a wok. Briefly stir-fry the capsicum, pineapple and onion for a minute.
• Add the ingredients of the sweet and sour sauce to the vegetables. Turn to high heat and stir-fry quickly until the sauce is thickened.
• Turn off the heat. Add the chicken to the vegetables. Coat the meat with the sauce and serve.

CLASSIC SWEET-AND-SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, water, egg, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper. In an electric skillet, heat 1/4 in. of oil to 375°. Dip chicken into batter. Fry in oil, a few pieces at a time, for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels., In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the sweet-and-sour sauce, carrots, green pepper, onion and pineapple. Cover and microwave on high for 4-6 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Serve chicken and sauce with rice.

SWEET 'N SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• Drain pineapple; reserve juice.
• Cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• In large nonstick skillet heat oil over medium high heat; brown chicken, turning once.
• Reduce heat.
• Add carrots, bell pepper, onion and garlic to skillet.
• Cover; simmer 5 minutes.
• Combine reserved juice, ketchup, brown sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, ginger, lemon peel and juice in small bowl until blended.
• Stir into same skillet. Cover; simmer 10 minutes longer. Stir in pineapple; heat through. Serve with hot rice.

SWEET AND SOUR SKILLET CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place onion slices in electric skillet in a single layer.
• Arrange chicken pieces on top of onion slices.
• Sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
• Mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.
• Set control at medium.
• Cook, covered for 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low simmer setting and cook covered at least 2 hours.
• Turn chicken pieces periodically, and baste with sauce.
• Add a little amount of water at a time if sauce becomes too thick.