So Long!

Fairwell to the Olympics! It was fun while it lasted but I am looking forward to having my evenings back. What a fun few weeks it has been and before we close out our Chinese Food Olympic Event I'll leave you with one last recipe, a classic. Really, all this fried Chinese food is not our every day kind of Chinese food but it is quite popular here in the States so you can't really avoid it. I really only make this kind of food for things like Chinese New Year or Chinese themed How to Host a Murder parties.

Previous Chinese Kitchen Post recipes:
Beef and Broccoli
Ginger Chicken
Cashew Chicken
Misfortune cookies
Spring Rolls

And now because parting is such sweet n' sour (punny I know)

I think the key to this dish is the chicken marinade (makes a difference) and using fresh pineapple. It just tastes better than canned. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken
serves 4

2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp chicken stock
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 Tb sesame oil
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into long thin strips

1 package Tempura, prepared with ice cold water into a fairly thick consistancy
canola oil for frying

1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 inch coins
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 ripe fresh pineapple, chopped

Sweet and Sour sauce (see recipe)

1) marinade the chicken strips in the soy sauce, chicken stock, white pepper, and sesame oil for at least 15 minutes. Overnite is fine in the refrigerator.

2) Heat the oil in a shallow pan. Prepare tempura batter per box directions (I use ice cold water and leave the batter on the thicker side for a better coat). Drop marinated chicken into batter, coating evenly. Test hot oil by dropping small drops of batter in - if the batter sinks and stays on the bottom of your pan the oil is not hot enough. You want the batter to float up to the top with a faster pace fry action - you want the chicken to be cooked sure but the less time it sits in the oil overall the better off you'll be. Fry all of the battered chicken until golden brown, turning if necessary. Drain off oil by placing on layers of paper towels after fried. Let cool slightly.

3) Heat up wok with a few Tbs of oil (can use from the frying vat). Stir fry all vegetables together for a couple minutes - you still want them slightly crunchy. Place cooked vegetables on a platter. Stir fry pineapple until heated through - I save this for last as it can put out a bit of liquid. Mix in with vegetables.

4) Place fried chicken over stirfry. Pour Sweet and Sour sauce over top. Serve over a warm bed of Jasmine rice. This dish is really best served shortly after making it and it isn't the best for leftovers once all the sauce is poured over the chicken. For kids, I sometimes leave the sauce off and set aside for them to dip the chicken. If they question it just tell them it is Chinese Chicken Nuggets...

WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE CHINESE FOOD OLYMPIC EVENT WINNER TOMORROW!! THANKS TO ALL WHO JOINED IN ON THE FUN!