29 June 2016

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is a lovely version of a take-out food, done at home. But a lot healthier and yummier in my opinion. This recipe is taken from the Hairy Bikers recipe book, called the Hairy Dieters.

Now I love their books. I have three of their healthy eating ones, and the ones I have tired have all been delicious. I am quite a fussy person when it comes to food, although not so much now thanks to these two. It has made me try new recipes, which before I wouldn't try and having the same old family meals, but healthier.

This is from their first book and it has plenty of other good recipes, it is definitely a good buy. It especially helps if you are try to eat healthier but like good flavoursome foods. It has the correct measurements on portion size, depending on the recipe. 

This recipe serves 4 people.

To start of with you will need these ingredients:
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 medium onion (they say into 12 wedges, I personally finely chop the onion
  • 2 peppers, de-seeded and but into chunks of 3cm, however, I personally slice them
  • 225g can of water chestnuts
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 25g chunk of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated, I personally chopped it finely
  • freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce you will need:
  • 425g can of pineapple of chunks, in natural juice
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • 150ml water
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, I personally use light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar 
  • 2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • 1/2 tsp dried chilli

To start with you need to make the sauce up. To do this you need to drain the pineapple in a sieve over a bowl and make sure you keep the juice. There should be about 150ml of juice. Then put the cornflour into a large bowl and stir in 3 tablespoon of the pineapple juice to make a smooth paste. Once mixed well add the rest of the pineapple juice, the water, then stir in the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ketchup and chilli flakes, and combined thoroughly. set aside.


Cut each chicken breast, they say into 8 or 9 pieces each, however I just chopped it up. Heat the tablespoon of oil into in a large non-stick frying pan or wok. I tend to use a wok as it is easier for me. I tend to stir-fry the chicken first as I like to know it is cooked, where in the book it say to cook the peppers and onion first, then the chicken. I ensure the chicken is cook thoroughly so there is no pink inside and it is slightly coloured on each side.


Add the rest of the oil, then add in the peppers and onion and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, pineapple chunks, and water chestnuts, and stir-fry for a minute or two.






The sauce we mixed at the beginning, needs a good old stir, and added to the wok, with the rest. Stir in well, and season with black pepper, and bring it to a simmer. Cook for around 4-6 minutes, or until the sauce has thicken and looks glossy, ensuring you stir occasionally. Then serve with a small portion of rice. I tend to weigh about 75-80g of rice for this dish. 


In the one I cooked I used very dark soy sauce, which is why is it looks very dark, I personally tend to use a light soy sauce and it doesn't look as dark. But it tasted the same it was very yummy, and easy to cook. A lot more flavour then a jar of sauce. 


No comments:

Post a Comment