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Crispy Sweet & Sour Chicken

I asked if people on our Facebook page wanted this recipe. The answer was a definate yes from a lot of people.

The one thing I did take note of was how a few mentioned they found many, especially packet sweet and sour sauces, contain an awful lot of sugar.

This made me think about my own recipe and as 99% of recipes out there, mine too contained a crazy amount of sugar.

Usually I ask the people who follow the BiaMaith Facebook page if they want me to do a particular recipe. If I get a positive response I make it the same day and post the recipe a day or two later.

This time it took me nearly a week to post this particular recipe. I took it as a challenge and worked on making a brand new version only this time with a lot less sugar.

I used pineapple juice which I know contains sugar but they are natural sugars and not the refined kind that is extra bad. You also get the vitamins from the pineapple juice which is a good thing.

I've broken this recipe down into sections which will allow you to make the sauce on it's own or just the crispy chicken if needed. Kids do love this chicken even if served plain.

5/5

4 adults or 2 adults 4 kids

15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking

Ingredients

THE MARINADE

4 chicken fillets, cut into even sized cubes.

2 tbsp cornflour

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 eggs, whites only

THE SAUCE

100ml apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar

200ml pineapple juice

4 tbsp tomato ketchup

2 tsp of sugar or 4 if you have no honey.

2 tsp honey, use 2 extra tsp of sugar if you don't have any.

3 tsp cornflour mixed to a paste with 3 tsp of cold water. Only add this when the sauce boils.

THE CRISPY COATING

100g plain flour

75g cornflour

2 tsp baking powder, don't worry if you don't have it.

OPTIONAL EXTRA INGREDIENTS 6 pineapple rings cut into cubes. Fresh coriander.

Instructions

THE MARINADE

Cut the chicken into even sized cubes. You should get 8 out of a regular sized chicken breast or 2 from an inner fillet.

Mix the rest of the marinade ingredients really well in a bowl then add the chicken, mix, cover and stick in the fridge for 1 hour.

THE SAUCE

Add all the sauce ingredients apart from the water and cornflour mix to a saucepan.

Bring to the boil then add the paste you made from the water and cornflour whisking really well as you do. Cook it for a minute or two until it is a nice ketchup like consistency.

WARNING The sauce will be extremely hot and sticky so please be very careful and make sure to keep it well away from kids. Best if you allow it to cool slightly if serving to children,

THE CHICKEN

Remove the chicken from the fridge.

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a pan or preheat your deep fat fryer to high. IF USING THE PAN Preheat your oven to 180C fan oven or GM4 or 200C convection before heating the oil.

Mix the rest of the coating ingredients together in a bowl then add the chicken a few pieces at a time. Roll around until coated.

PAN FRIED AND OVEN Place in the heated pan and fry until crispy each side. Watch them carefully as they will burn quickly on the bottom side.

WARNING Do not leave a pan filled with hot oil unattended even for a moment. Move to the back of the stove off the heated hob if necessary. If the oil gets too hot move away from the heat if needed

Finish in the oven for about 15 minutes depending on how big you cut the chicken. Goto step 17.

DEEP FAT FRYER

Coat the chicken in the flour mix then drop 1/3 into the preheated fryer.. Cook for about 6 minutes then do the next batch.

The chicken must be cooked all the way through. It can't be pink at all inside. Cut into the biggest piece to make sure.

Heat the sauce in a wok then add the chicken and pineapple and mix well. I like to finely chop peppers, chilli and coriander and mix this in. Serve immediately.

ALTERNATIVE HEALTIER VERSION Don't coat the chicken in the flour. Pan fry it with some diced peppers and onions till cooked then add the sauce. Serve with your favourite rice.

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