Follow Up on my Sweet and Sour Challenge

Last week I got a Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe from my friend Javann with a challenge to healthify it.  I started brainstorming, then rolled up my sleeves and got to work.  I ended up making more tweaks than I imagined, but the results were positive with both my boys gobbling it up.  My note to self is to not ladle on very much extra sauce because it packed a lot of tang and took away from the flavors of the veggies when used in excess.

For Javann’s original recipe, click HERE.  For mine, read on…

No Oil Sweet and Sour Chicken

• 2 pounds chicken breast, cut in strips
• 1 c. cornstarch
• 3 egg whites, beaten until fluffy
• Asian vegetables (enough to pack your frying pan)

For sauce:

• ½ c. sugar
• 4 Tbs ketchup
• ½ c. vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• ¼ tsp. powdered ginger
• 3 Tbs pineapple juice
• ½ tsp cornstarch

Prepare chicken strips by cutting off excess fat and gristle.  Roll the strips in cornstarch, then dip in egg, then lightly dust with cornstarch again.  Heat a frying pan to hot (sprinkled water evaporates quickly) and sear the chicken strips quickly.  The strips won’t change color like with frying, but you just want to sear it enough that the breading is really cemented on.  Excess cornstarch left in the pan may begin to burn, so scrape out pan as needed.

Place prepared chicken strips in a 13×9 in glass baking dish.  I didn’t spray mine and the breading did stick a bit, so you could put a little cooking spray in the pan if desired.  Prepare one recipe of sauce and pour over the chicken strips.  Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, turn chicken strips, then cook for another 20 minutes or until cooked through.

While the chicken bakes, *steam-fry your vegetables.  Using liquid instead of oil, start by cooking sliced onion and other firm or thick cut veggies.  Once those soften add other thinner veggies and more liquid if needed.  Once all veggies are added, cover and reduce heat allowing them to steam through and keep warm until time to serve.  Serve veggies and chicken over rice.  If desired, prepare a second recipe of the sauce to drizzle over the dish as the baked sauce becomes quite solid.

*Steam frying can be a strange concept, so let me tell you what I did as an example.  I used 2 Tbs water to cook half an onion and 1 medium zucchini, sliced.  After that I added shoestring carrots and continued to sauté.  When the carrots were starting to show their color I added some bean sprouts and water chestnuts.  The water was just about all evaporated so I added another 3 Tbs of pineapple juice.  Lastly I added shredded cabbage, then covered and let the juices steam through the veggies.

Happy Cooking!

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