As-good-as-restaurant-Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ever had a plate of steaming Sweet and Sour chicken placed before you, beamed with glee and wondered, “How do they do it,” or better yet, “Wish I could do it.” Well, now you can. My recipe for Sweet and Sour chicken is a sure-fire hit, and guaranteed to please even the most particular eater. It’s simple, it’s delcious, and can be varied upon to reduce fat content and caloric intake. From my happy table to yours…as-good-as-restaurant-Sweet and Sour Chicken.

The Sauce:

1. 1 36 oz bottle of Ketchup (I like Heinz, but any brand will do)
2. 12 oz canned pineapple chunks (w/liquid)
3. 3 tablespoons Worcestershire
4. 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
5. 1/3 cup brown sugar
6. 1 large green pepper
7. 1 large yellow pepper
8. 1 large yellow onion

Empty Ketchup, pineapple chunks (w/juice), Worcestershire, soy and brown sugar into a large pot. I find large pasta pots work formidably well. Cut up green pepper, yellow pepper and yellow onion. You do not need to cut up the veggies fine, as chunks work well in this recipe. Add a little bit of canola oil (or olive if you prefer) to a saute pan and saute the veggies until the onions are transluscent and the peppers nicely firmed and aromatic. Drain the excess liquid from the veggies and add them to the pot with the sauce. Turn burner on low, and stir all ingredients together well.

The Chicken:

1. 2 to 2 1/2 pounds lean chicken breast
2. 2 cups flower
3. 3 eggs
4. 1/2 cup milk
5. salt and pepper (to taste)
6. Canola oil (for frying the chicken)

Break eggs into medium sized bowl and add milk. Set aside. Pour flour into medium sized bowl. Set aside. Cut the chicken into chunks, bite-sized chunks. Run the chicken through the egg and milk mixture, and then lightly coat with the flour. The oil should be hot in the saute pan (drop a piece of coated flour into the pan, and if it sizzles, the oil is hot enough). Fry all the pieces of the chicken, this takes about 2 minutes on each side of the chicken chunks. The chicken should be golden brown on every side. After all the chicken pieces are fried, set on a paper towel coated plate to drain excess oil.

Assembly:

Assembly could not be simpler. Add the fried pieces of chicken to the sauce, which has been simmering nicely on the burner. Fold the chicken pieces into the sauce, coating the chicken evenly.

Serve over white or brown rice. I like the boil-in-the-bag rice that takes either 3 or 10 minutes, depending on brand. This cuts down on prep and serving time. This dish is amazing, and will please the entire family.

Variations:

To cut down on calories and fat content, you can forgo frying the chicken. Either boil the chicken, or saute the chicken in a little bit of olive oil (assemble the same way as stated above). You can use low sodium soy sauce and Ketchup for the sauce.