Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Sweet and Sour Pineapple Chicken

Yum

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year so I thought I would celebrate with a stir fry dish.  This stir fry has hints of orange and a lot of pineapple.  The funny thing is when I was a little kid I could not imagine mixing my "fruits" with savory food. 

Now I actually love having pineapple and mango in my savory food.   I am always adding them to chutneys and Asian style dishes.   It makes me realize that you never can say "never" because tastes change as you get older.  I'm trying keep my kid's minds open so they will not  have the same "food hangups" that I had growing up.   Of course they have their own little hangups with food.... hopefully their tastes will change and mature over time. 

Okay, back to this stir fry.  I love the glossy sauce that coats the veggies and chicken.  My husband loved it so much that he wanted to eat the leftovers the next day, but my kids had already beat him to it.   You have to be quick around here when a dish is loved by all four of us because somebody will be sure to finish off the leftovers. 

So Happy Chinese New Year!  May your year be full of joy, prosperity and good health. 



 Ingredients:
2lbs boneless skinless chicken breast cut into large bite size cubes 
3stalks celery sliced
1 large onion chopped
2 carrots sliced (or one cup baby carrots chopped)
1/2 green bell pepper chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped 
20oz can diced pineapple in pineapple juice (reserve juice)
1 heaping Tbs grated fresh ginger
2 tsp grated fresh garlic
red chili flakes to taste

Sauce:
1 cup pineapple juice (reserved from the can)
1/4 cup orange marmalade
2 Tbs hoisin sauce
3-4 Tbs soy sauce (or more to taste)
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs rice vinegar

Cornstarch Slurry:
2 Tbs cornstarch
1 Tbs water (or enough to make cornstarch into a thick liquid)

Directions:
Heat 3Tbs canola oil in large wok or frying pan.  When oil is searing hot, add the chicken and stir fry a few minutes.   Then add the ginger, garlic, some salt and black pepper for seasoning and red chili flakes. Saute for 1 minute.

Next add the onion, carrots and celery. Saute all ingredients with chicken for 2 minutes.  Then add the peppers and saute for another minute.

Make the sauce by stirring together the reserved canned pineapple juice, orange marmalade, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar and brown sugar.

Add the sauce to the chicken and turn the heat down to medium and cook for 15 minutes.  Then add the canned pineapple chunks and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Turn the heat back up to medium-high and add the cornstarch slurry to the pan.  Stir well and allow sauce to thicken for 3-4 minutes.  Serve with hot rice.  Enjoy. 







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