Prep time: 30 mins | Cooking: 20 mins | Additional: 10 mins | Total: 1 hr | Servings: 8 | Yield: 8 servings
This Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe does not fry deeply but rather uses a method to produce a delicate, smooth, and succulent chicken that goes perfectly with a lightly sweet and sour sauce. The key lies in the chicken marinade, using egg and cornstarch in particular, which produces a super-light coating all around the meat. It won’t be a crunchy, deep-fried coating, but I think it’s both texture-wise and weight-wise a good alternative.
Ingredients:
1 (8 ounces) can pineapple chunks, drained; reserve the juice
¼ cup cornstarch
(1 ¾) cups water, divided
¾ cup white sugar
½ cup distilled white vinegar
(2) drops orange food color
(8) skinless and boneless chicken breast halves – cut into 1-inch cubes
(2 ¼) cups self-rising flour
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp cornstarch
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground white pepper
(1) egg
1 ½ cups water
1-quart vegetable oil for frying
(2) green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
Directions:
Combine 1 1/2 cups of water, sugar, vinegar, reserved pineapple juice, and orange food coloring in a saucepan, heat to boiling. Turn the heat off. Combine the 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water; then, slowly stir into the saucepan. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens.
Combine the flour. 2 tbsp of oil, 2 tbsp of cornstarch, salt, white pepper, and egg. Add the 1/ 1/2 cup of water then gradually make a thick batter. Stir it to blend completely. Add the chicken pieces, and stir until the chicken is well coated.
In a skillet or wok, heat the oil at about 360 degrees F (180 degrees C). Fry the pieces of chicken in hot oil for 10 minutes, or until golden, remove the chicken and drain on paper towels.
Once ready to serve, layer green peppers, pineapple chunks, and cooked chicken pieces on a platter. Garnish with fresh sweet and sour sauce.
Note:
After cooking, we determined the nutritional value of the frying oil based on a retention value of 10 percent. The exact amount may differ depending on the time and temperature of the cooking, the density of the ingredients, and the particular type of oil used.
Nutrition Facts:
Per Serving: 639.3 calories; 59.2 g protein; 56.2 g carbohydrates; 160.1 mg cholesterol; 758.6 mg sodium; 59.2 g protein; 56.2 g carbohydrates.
