Sweet and Sour Chicken
We love a good chinese takeaway here, but it’s hard to justify having them all the time! Luckily, this just means that we get to satisfy all of our cravings with homecooked food - and isn’t that the better way to satisfy your cravings? This sweet and sour chicken is a particular favourite of ours, and we’ve been working to perfect the recipe for a while now. We hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients
Sauce
120g sugar
60ml white vinegar
180ml fruit juice (we used orange juice, but pineapple will work best!)
150g ketchup
2 tbsp cornflour
2 bell peppers (we used green and red)
1 large onion
salt to taste
Batter
150g self raising flour
200ml water
4 chicken breasts, cubed
Method
Sauce
Pour the sugar and vinegar into a saucepan, and stir on a low heat until the sugar is entirely dissolved.
Add the fruit juice and ketchup, and season with the salt to taste.
Mix cornflour with a small amount of cold water (2-3 tbsp) until it’s fully dissolved. Slowly pour in the mixture, while stirring the sauce continuously. You can adjust the thickness by adding more fruit juice to thin, or more cornflour mixture to thicken it up.
Chop the onions and peppers, then add them a frying pan and fry on a medium high heat, for about 5 minutes, until the peppers are just about finished - they should still have a slight crunch to them!
Stir the vegetables into the sauce, and set aside.
Chicken
Heat a fat fryer to 180°c
In a bowl, mix the self raising flour and water together until smooth. Coat each piece of chicken in the batter.
Carefully lower the chicken in the oil by holding it between your finger and thumb - hold it there for a few seconds before releasing it into the oil. This ensures that the chicken will float while in the fryer
Turn the chicken cubes every minute or so to make sure they cook evenly. Fry them in small batches of 4 to 6 pieces, depending on the size. Place on a kitchen towel to drain.
Once all the chicken has been fried, add them to the sauce and heat everything together on a high heat, until the sauce is piping hot.
Serve with white rice, and enjoy!
