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Next level sweet and sour chicken

Next level sweet & sour chicken served in a bowl

Next level sweet and sour chicken

Name: Next level sweet and sour chicken
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs fat trimmed, sliced; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry; thumb-sized piece ginger peeled and finely grated; 3 garlic cloves finely grated; 1 egg beaten; 100g cornflour; ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder; sunflower oil for deep-frying; boiled rice to serve; 5 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry; 150ml malt vinegar; 60g caster sugar; 2 garlic cloves crushed; 2 tbsp tomato ketchup; 2 tbsp soy sauce; ½ chicken stock pot or stock cube; 1 red pepper deseeded and roughly chopped; 1 red onion roughly chopped; ½ small pineapple chopped into chunks; large piece ginger peeled and very thinly sliced; small handful of coriander sprigs; 4 spring onions shredded; 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns (optional)

Barney Desmazery

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Serves 4

More effort

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 30 mins

plus marinating

A star rating of 4.6 out of 5.55 ratingsRate

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Get the best version of sweet and sour chicken with our ultimate recipe. You'll be rewarded with crisp, battered chicken in a sharp, sweet and fruity sauce

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

fat trimmed, sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine

or dry sherry
thumb-sized piece ginger

peeled and finely grated
3 garlic cloves

finely grated
1 egg

beaten
100g cornflour
½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
sunflower oil

for deep-frying
boiled rice

to serve

For the sauce

5 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine

or dry sherry
150ml malt vinegar
60g caster sugar
2 garlic cloves

crushed
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
½ chicken stock pot

or stock cube
1 red pepper

deseeded and roughly chopped
1 red onion

roughly chopped
½ small pineapple

chopped into chunks
large piece ginger

peeled and very thinly sliced

For the toppings

small handful of coriander sprigs
4 spring onions

shredded
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns

(optional)

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Nutrition: Per serving

kcal518
fat18g
saturates4g
carbs57g
sugars30g
fibre3g
protein30g
salt3g

Method

step 1

Mix the chicken with the soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, garlic and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Put in the fridge and leave to marinate for at least 1 hr or ideally overnight. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Tip the rice wine, vinegar and sugar into a saucepan with a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then add the garlic and ketchup. Continue to cook for 10 mins until syrupy, then remove from the heat and set aside. To prepare the toppings, put the coriander and spring onion in a bowl of iced water to perk them up. Toast the peppercorns in a dry frying pan, if using, then crush using a pestle and mortar. Mix with 1 tbsp sea salt and set aside.
step 2

Mix the beaten egg into the chicken mix, then stir in the cornflour and five-spice powder until the chicken is coated. Set aside. Pour the oil into a wok until it’s no more than a third full and heat to 170C, or heat a deep-fat fryer to the same temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a bit of the batter into the oil; when the batter sizzles and turns golden within 1 min, it’s ready. Fry the chicken in batches for 4-5 mins until golden and crisp, then drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven.
step 3

Meanwhile, gently reheat the sauce and add the soy sauce, stock pot or cube, vegetables, pineapple and ginger. Simmer for 3 mins until the veg is slightly softened. Mix the chicken with the sauce and serve with the coriander and spring onions, salt and pepper mix and some rice on the side.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2020

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A star rating of 4.6 out of 5.55 ratings

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