Healthy Eating
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Description
A little sweet, a little tangy, and an all-around delight, Sweet and Sour Chicken is the kind of dinner company you want at your table.
Ingredients
- FOR THE CHICKEN AND MARINADE:
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- FOR THE SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:
- Juice from 1 (15-ounce) can pineapple in 100% pure juice about 1/2 cup, use the pineapple chunks for the stir fry
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3 cloves
- ½ tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons sambal oelek (garlic chili paste) plus additional to taste
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice or 1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
- FOR STIR FRYING & SERVING:
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 orange or yellow bell pepper
- 1 small yellow onion
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Pineapple chunks from 1 (15-ounce) can pineapple use the juice for the sauce
- 1 tablespoon canola oil or grapeseed oil divided, or another neutral, high smoke point cooking oil
- Cooked brown rice for serving
- Chopped green onion optional for serving
Directions
- Prepare the chicken and marinade: In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
- Add the chicken and stir to evenly combine. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes while you prep the rest of the recipe or (in an ideal world where time allows) refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. Let come to room temperature prior to proceeding with the recipe.
- While the chicken marinades, prepare the sweet and sour sauce: In a large bowl, combine the pineapple juice, rice vinegar, honey, tomato paste, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sambal oelek, cornstarch, and allspice. Stir until evenly combined.
- Prep the veggies: core the bell peppers and cut into 1-inch chunks. Cut the yellow onion into 1-inch chunks. Drain any extra juice away from the canned pineapple chunks.
- When ready to stir fry, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large, sturdy nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Scatter on the chicken pieces in a single layer (discard any excess marinade). Stir fry until the chicken is cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes. Remove to a plate.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil and increase the heat to high. Once the oil is very hot and shimmering, add the bell peppers, onion, and pineapple. Stir fry until the vegetables are crisp-tender and lightly charred in a few places, about 7 minutes. Sure periodically, but don’t disturb the vegetables too much so that they brown.
- Reduce the heat to medium high. Return the chicken to the skillet along with any juices that have collected. Pour the sauce over the top, then stir to coat the vegetables and chicken. Let cook until the sauce is thickened and glossy and everything looks saucy and delicious. Serve over brown rice with a generous amount of the sauce and sprinkled with green onion.
