Cantonese Sweet Sour Chicken Food

CANTONESE SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces, about half the length of your thumb.
• In a bowl, add all the marinade ingredients EXCEPT the beaten egg white. Keep this in a separate bowl for now. Add the meat to the marinade and leave for 20 minutes.
• Get a plate ready to put all your prepared vegetables on. These should be bite size pieces, so the peppers, I usually cut in half, remove the seeds and pith from inside, then cut into squares, about 2 cm wide/long.
• The onion, cut into quarters or eighths and separate each layer so they will cook evenly.
• The spring onions/scallions, chop into little 1/2 cm pieces and keep separate from the rest of your vegetables.
• The ginger, peel (I just scrape the skin off with a knife), and chop finely.
• Add all the ingredients EXCEPT the hot water into a measuring jug. Mix well so the cornflour has combined. Add the hot water to make up the liquid mixture to total 1 pint or 1 1/2 cups or 0.6 quart.
• Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. The sauce will thicken as the starch cooks, and you will notice a change in color to a deeper orange/red. Make sure you keep stirring to avoid any lumps.
• When thick enough (consistency of yogurt) turn off the heat.
• You need 2 shallow dishes and a flat plate or baking tray.
• Add the beaten egg white into the chicken meat marinade and mix well, making sure every piece of chicken is coated with the egg white. Use your fingers!
• Put the 2 beaten eggs and the 1 egg yolk leftover from the chicken marinade in a shallow dish and beat lightly.
• In another shallow dish weigh out the cornstarch /cornflour (500g / 4 cups)
• Heavily cover a baking tray or large dish with cornflour or flour. (this will be used to put the chicken pieces on, once they are coated.
• Now you need to set up a mini production line, egg dish, then flour dish, then the plate / baking tray.
• Coat the pieces of chicken in egg, then in the flour, pushing the flour all over, making sure it sticks to the meat. Repeat egg & flour coat one more time then place on the plate / baking tray, making sure not to overlap the chicken on the plate. Make sure your plate is well floured otherwise the meat will stick to the plate and all your coating will come off!
• Heat the oil. Test the temperature by putting a little bit of the flour in. If it sizzles to the top, it's hot enough.
• Place the pieces of chicken in the oil, turn after a few minutes or when light golden brown, and do the same on the other side. Remove onto kitchen paper when done. Take care not to overlap the chicken pieces in the tray. You may have to cook the chicken in batches if you are using a small pan.
• Heat up the sauce from earlier until starting to bubble, stir to avoid lumps.
• Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to your wok and heat at a high temperature. Add ginger and mix it into the oil.
• Add all the other ingredients from your prepared vegetable plate EXCEPT the scallions/spring onions (they will go slimy & soft if you cook them now). Stir fry all ingredients until semi soft. You can test a pepper yourself to see if it is to your preference.
• Add the chicken pieces and stir/mix them into the vegetables. Make sure your wok is on the highest heat possible. Take care not to damage the coating when you are mixing it all together.
• I find it easiest to use chopsticks in one hand and a wide spatula in the other to turn and toss the food in a wok, however, 2 spatulas will work too if you aren't confident with the chopsticks!
• Add the heated sauce into the stir fry and mix well so that all the chicken, vegetables are coated with the sauce.
• Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle the scallions/spring onions over your creation.
• Serve with a lovely bowl of hot Fragrant Jasmine Rice and give yourself ONE HUGE PAT ON THE BACK for making one of the most popular Cantonese dishes in the world!

CANTONESE SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut the chicken into small chunks and mix with the soy sauce and sesame oil. In a jug or bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients with 100ml cold water. Line a large plate with kitchen paper.
• Heat the groundnut oil in a deep-fat fryer to about 180C. Then dip a few chunks of chicken at a time into the batter, then place in the hot oil using tongs or a slotted spoon, but don't crowd the pan. Fry until crisp and golden - about 2 mins. You may need to do this in batches, so reheat the oil each time. As the chunks cook, lift out with tongs/spoon to the paper-lined plate to drain.
• Heat a wok to hot, add about 3 tbsp oil and stir-fry the vegetables with the garlic and ginger for about 3 mins. Give the sauce a quick final stir and pour into the wok, mixing as it cooks to a light glossy sauce. Bubble for 1 min, then spoon over the chicken and serve.

CANTONESE SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut chicken into 1-in pieces.
• Combine the next 4 ingredients, stir in chicken; let stand for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile drain canned oranges and reserve 1/4 cup syrup.
• Blend syrup with sweet and sour sauce.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a hot wok or large skillet over med-high heat.
• Add chicken cubes and stir-fry 2 minutes; remove; set aside.
• Heat remaining oil in the same wok or frypan; add snow peas and stir-fry 1 minute.
• Add green onions and stir-fry 30 seconds.
• Add in chicken, almonds and sweet and sour mixture; cook stirring until all ingredients are coated with sauce.
• Gently stir in orange segments; heat through.

CANTONESE SWEET-AND-SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut chicken in 1 inch pieces. Combine cornstarch, soy sauce and ginger in medium bowl. Add chicken, toss to coat, and let stand for 15 minutes. (I actually let the pieces marinate overnight and it made the chicken incredibly tender!).
• In small bowl, drain the pineapple juice from the can and combine it with the sweet-and-sour sauce.
• In a wok or large skillet (that's what I used) over medium high heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add chicken and stir fry 2 minutes; transfer to plate. Add another couple of drops of oil, then add peas and stir fry for a few minutes or until tender enough for your toddler.
• Add chicken, almonds and sweet-and-sour mixture and cook, stirring, until chicken is cooked through and coated with sauce. Gently stir in pineapple and heat through.
• Tip: Serve atop white, fluffy Jasmati Rice!