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Sweet & sour chicken

By Good Food

This homemade sweet and sour sauce is so much better than a takeaway. Great with rice or noodles

Prep:20 mins
Cook:20 mins

Serves 4
Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 522
fat 33g
saturates 6g
carbs 31g
sugars 4g
fibre 2g
protein 27g
salt 2.9g

Ingredients

2-3 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, (about 400g/14oz total weight)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
groundnut or sunflower oil, for deep frying, plus extra for stir-frying
tempura batter (see below)
1 small red pepper, cored, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 medium carrot, sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 fat garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp finely chopped fresh root ginger
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp sherry
1 tbsp light soft brown sugar
1 tsp cornflour

Tip

Making tempura batter
Mix this just as you are about to cook. Sift 85g/3oz plain flour and 1 tbsp cornflour with ½ tsp fine sea salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in 200ml/7fl oz ice-cold sparkling mineral water along with a few ice cubes using a whisk, but don’t over beat. It doesn’t matter about a few lumps. Use immediately.

Method

Cut the chicken into small chunks and mix with the soy sauce and sesame oil. In a jug or bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients with 100ml cold water. Line a large plate with kitchen paper.
Heat the groundnut oil in a deep-fat fryer to about 180C. Then dip a few chunks of chicken at a time into the batter, then place in the hot oil using tongs or a slotted spoon, but don’t crowd the pan. Fry until crisp and golden – about 2 mins. You may need to do this in batches, so reheat the oil each time. As the chunks cook, lift out with tongs/spoon to the paper-lined plate to drain.
Heat a wok to hot, add about 3 tbsp oil and stir-fry the vegetables with the garlic and ginger for about 3 mins. Give the sauce a quick final stir and pour into the wok, mixing as it cooks to a light glossy sauce. Bubble for 1 min, then spoon over the chicken and serve.