Do you like the idea of sweet and sour chicken, but when you order it, you are stuck with the overly pineapple taste? This is the perfect dish. NO pineapple!
Tender chicken with a rich, slightly sweet sauce takes Chinese takeout to another level. Server over rice and you won't miss the cardboard containers.
There is a option for cooking that keeps the chicken crispy but you loose some of the warmth and flavor that is absorbed from the sauce into the chicken. Let me know what you think.
Ingredients:
Chicken breading:
3-4 chicken thighs, 1-1.25 lbs
salt & pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Sauce:
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 tbs ketchup
1/2 cup white distilled vinegar
1.5 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 small green pepper, finely diced
1/4 tsp cornstarch
Toppings:
Sesame seeds
Green onions, chopped
Rice, 2 cups pre-cooked
Directions:
Cook rice according to directions.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
Start the rice cooking.
Cut the chicken into 1/2 in pieces
Add a generous amount of salt and pepper to the cornstarch in a baggie. Add the chicken to the baggie and shake to coat.
Heat the oil in a large skillet to medium-high.
Coat each piece of chicken in the egg wash.
Cook the chicken in batches till browned on all sides, about 3 min.
Place in a 9x9 or 9x13 baking dish. Pour the sauce over the chicken, lightly mix to coat.
Cook in oven for 15 minutes.
Plate by putting rice in a bowl, spoon chicken over rice, add toppings.
Directions Option 2:
Follow the instructions above but instead of mixing the chicken and sauce, warm the sauce in a pan while cooking the chicken then plate the rice, chicken and add the sauce on top. This will keep the chicken crispy.
In the main directions, the chicken does absorb the flavor of the sauce and gives a more authentic Chinese takeout feel.
Notes:
Servings = 3