The first time I ever ate this a young woman, who was a budding brilliant cook, brought this over for dinner when I had my son who is almost 17 now. It was love at first bite. She used chicken in her recipe. It's one that I for some reason forget about, you need to have canned pineapple, and that's not something I normally keep. But if I have it, I'll make this cheap and delicious meal.
Here's Christine's recipe she wrote out for me 17 years ago.
Sweet and Sour Chicken serves 4-6
Fry in frying pan with oil:
4 pieces boneless chicken breast
1 egg, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
cube chicken and mix in egg and cornstarch
Mix in a large saucepan:
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. white sugar
pineapple juice from the sm. can of pineapple chunks
Boil, then add:
pineapple chunks (what's left in the can)
2-3 Tbsp. soy sauce (to taste)
Mix in a little bowl:
1/4 c water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
then add to the pineapple mixture
Add chicken once sauce has thickened and let simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve over rice. I usually double this recipe for our large family.
Vegetables:
I add peppers and onions to as much as I can now, also celery is cheap and easy to throw in too. Carrots are good as well as most "stir fry" veggies...those stir fry frozen vegetable bags would work for this. If we're fasting then I'll cook the sauce in a separate saucepan and fry up my veg in a large pan, then add the sauce on top. Don't overcook your vegetables! Only cook a short time then add your sauce, you want them still a bit firm like in a stir-fry.
For Tofu:
If I use tofu I fry that ahead of time with no egg or cornstarch in a non-stick pan. I have been using peanut oil lately for frying things and that worked nicely tonight. I use the firm tofu that come in little boxes that you have to cut open. This way they are shelf stable and don't have to refrigerate. Also, when you open them up I dab off as much water as I can. I slice the block in half and dab it more. Then cube it up and add to a hot pan with oil. I used 2 boxes tonight for my family of 8.
Shrimp:
This I'll just add to the vegetables. Shrimp cooks fast, add this last then the sauce.
Cheating recipe:
What I did tonight was instead of buying pineapple and making sauce, I actually bought two 15oz cans of Carnation sweet & sour sauce at the store. This was plenty to cover my vegetables and tofu and I got to skip making the sauce. I bought it for a night that I was tight on time and that was tonight. I prepared my tofu and vegetables and made my rice before church, then when we got home I fried the veg and tofu for about 5 minutes then let them cook in sauce for 5 min. Then served. Easy! I have a feeling that the Carnation sauce has all sorts of unhealthy things that I wouldn't have put into mine. But it was good.
Here's Christine's recipe she wrote out for me 17 years ago.
Sweet and Sour Chicken serves 4-6
Fry in frying pan with oil:
4 pieces boneless chicken breast
1 egg, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
cube chicken and mix in egg and cornstarch
Mix in a large saucepan:
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. white sugar
pineapple juice from the sm. can of pineapple chunks
Boil, then add:
pineapple chunks (what's left in the can)
2-3 Tbsp. soy sauce (to taste)
Mix in a little bowl:
1/4 c water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
then add to the pineapple mixture
Add chicken once sauce has thickened and let simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve over rice. I usually double this recipe for our large family.
Vegetables:
I add peppers and onions to as much as I can now, also celery is cheap and easy to throw in too. Carrots are good as well as most "stir fry" veggies...those stir fry frozen vegetable bags would work for this. If we're fasting then I'll cook the sauce in a separate saucepan and fry up my veg in a large pan, then add the sauce on top. Don't overcook your vegetables! Only cook a short time then add your sauce, you want them still a bit firm like in a stir-fry.
For Tofu:
If I use tofu I fry that ahead of time with no egg or cornstarch in a non-stick pan. I have been using peanut oil lately for frying things and that worked nicely tonight. I use the firm tofu that come in little boxes that you have to cut open. This way they are shelf stable and don't have to refrigerate. Also, when you open them up I dab off as much water as I can. I slice the block in half and dab it more. Then cube it up and add to a hot pan with oil. I used 2 boxes tonight for my family of 8.
Shrimp:
This I'll just add to the vegetables. Shrimp cooks fast, add this last then the sauce.
Cheating recipe:
What I did tonight was instead of buying pineapple and making sauce, I actually bought two 15oz cans of Carnation sweet & sour sauce at the store. This was plenty to cover my vegetables and tofu and I got to skip making the sauce. I bought it for a night that I was tight on time and that was tonight. I prepared my tofu and vegetables and made my rice before church, then when we got home I fried the veg and tofu for about 5 minutes then let them cook in sauce for 5 min. Then served. Easy! I have a feeling that the Carnation sauce has all sorts of unhealthy things that I wouldn't have put into mine. But it was good.
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| Tofu, celery, onion, peppers before adding sauce. |
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