Sweet & Sour Chicken With Lemon

Sweet and Sour Chicken With Lemon

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken Bits:
2 pounds skinned, de-boned chicken, cut
into bite-sized pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
A little fresh ground black pepper, ground
ginger and garlic powder to season flour (not a lot)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
Vegetable oil

Vegetables:
1 green bell pepper, washed, seeded and cut
into 1/2-inch square bits

1 red bell pepper, washed, seeded and cut into
1/2-inch square bits

1 large yellow onion, skinned, root end removed,
cut into 1/2-inch bits

2 medium carrots, peeled and trimed, slice thinly
on the diagonal

1 20-ounce can pineapple chunks in juice (no added
sweeteners)

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice
1 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 - 6 drops red food coloring
2 rounded tablespoons corn starch mixed in enough
cold water to make a slurry


PREPARATION:

Directions for Making Chicken Bits
When cutting the chicken into bite-sized pieces,
remove any fat, gristle or connective tissue.

If the chicken is soft-frozen or almost thawed it
is easier to cut.

In small frying pan, add 1/2-inch vegetable oil.

Heat to deep-frying temperature. In a bowl mix eggs
and milk. Beat until well combined.Place flour and
seasonings in a shallow bowl and mix.

Dunk pieces of chicken in the egg and milk mixture.
Allow excess to drain. Dredge the chicken pieces in
the flour coating thoroughly.

Here is your chance to practice with your chop sticks
and keep the flour off from your fingers.

Drop pieces into the hot oil and fry until deep
golden brown. Turn as necessary to cook evenly on
all sides. When golden brown, remove to paper towel
covered plate to drain.

Repeat until all chicken pieces are cooked. Set aside
until assembly.

Directions for Making Sweet and Sour Sauce
Place pineapple and water in sauce pan. Heat over
low flame. Slowly add sugar while stirring.

When sugar has dissolved, slowly add the vinegar and
the lemon juice while stirring.

Add corn starch slurry and stir while heating. Bring
to a boil. Stir constantly until thickened. Add food
coloring (a couple drops at first and then adjust until
you have the red color you like) and stir well to mix.

Continue to heat and stir until almost a syrup.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Note: You will be judging the thickness of the sauce
while it is hot. It will thicken considerably when it
is set aside and cools.

Later, when added to the vegetables, the moisture
from the vegetables will thin the sauce quite a bit.

Directions for Assembling Completed Dish
Add a little vegetable oil to a large frying pan or wok.
Bring to frying temperature over medium heat.

Add vegetables (but not the pineapple) and cook,
stirring frequently, until onions begin to
caramelize.

Add sweet and sour sauce and continue cooking and
stirring until vegetable are bite tender and sauce
has re-thickened and clings to the vegetables.

Add pineapple and chicken bits and fold into the
vegetables and sauce. Simmer until heated through.

Serve.

Most home-made sweet and sour sauces are made
with brown sugar and the sauce has the distinctive
coffee color of the molasses in the brown sugar.

This recipe produces a red sweet and sour sauce that
looks just like the Chinese restaurant take-out
food but we think that it tastes a lot better.

Try it and see how easy it is to make
tasty oriental-style food at home.