Sweet and Sour Chicken

Requested by the children and lovingly agreed upon by the chef, last night's dinner was Sweet and Sour Chicken.

I love the fact that my kids ask for such dishes when I am in the mood for taking requests. They don't ask for fish fingers or two minute noodles or anything simple and I am REALLY proud of them for that. To be honest, I don't think I would cope that well with children that are fussy eaters especially considering both Noel and I love to cook a diverse range of foods.

This is the first time that I have ever cooked Sweet And Sour sauce from scratch. I have to say that in the past when making this dish I have used the sauce premade in a bottle. I was happy with the outcome and have a sneaky feeling that the kids did also as there wasn't a great deal left!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Serves: 4
Points per serve: 7

500 grams chicken breast fillet, diced
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1/3 cup cornflour
1/3 cup water
oil for deep frying
1 red capsicum, diced
1 green capsicum, diced
1 onion, diced
1 440 gram can pineapple pieces, drained and reserve juice
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour, extra

Combine sugar, soy sauce and sherry in a bowl and stir well. Add diced chicken, stir to coast and leave to marinade for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Drain meat from marinade, reserve liquid.

Mix the cornflour and water in a bowl to make a batter. Add chicken pieces. Heat oil in wok or large frying pan. Cook chicken, several pieces at a time, cooking until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and keep warm.

Drain oil from wok, leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil. Return over high heat, add the capsicums and the onions. Stir fry for 2 - 4 minutes. Mix together tomato sauce, vinegar and reserved pineapple juice. Add to the wok, tossing through the vegetables. Add the pineapple pieces. Mix the remaining cornflour with water, add to the wok, stirring continuously until boiling and starting to thicken.

Place chicken on a plate and cover with sauce and vegetables.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)