Recipe: Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken
rec.food.recipes/Marti Toronto/1995
Makes 4 servings

This recipe is a little time-consuming, but well worth the wait.

vegetable oil
sweet and sour sauce (see below)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. msg
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup water
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. chicken (breast works well), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups hot cooked rice

Pour oil into a deep frying pan to a depth of 1 to 1.5 inches. Heat to 375 degrees, or until a 1-inch bread cube browns in 1 minute. (A deep fryer also works well.) While oil heats, prepare sweet-and-sour sauce.

In a small bowl, beat flour, cornstarch, salt, msg, baking powder, water, and 2 tsp. oil with an electric beater until smooth. Dip meat into batter with tongs; fry in hot oil, turning once, until golden brown. Drain; keep warm.

Stir green pepper and onion into sweet-and-sour sauce. Cover and simmer until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Serve meat and sauce over rice.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tbsp. cornstarch
1 (16 oz.) can pineapple tidbits, drained (reserve syrup)
1/2 cup vinegar
4 tbsp. catsup

In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to measure 2 cups. Stir juice mixture, vinegar, and catsup into cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in pineapple. Keep warm over very low heat.