FIRECRACKER! FIRECRACKER! BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
It isn’t often that I make something spicy. Nevertheless, a dish that is sweet and spicy. BOOM! I am a huge fan of Asian cuisine. In fact, one of my favorite foods is sushi. I love sushi! I love sushi so much that I could eat it several times a week. That and spring rolls. Oh and Drunken Noodles, and Pho, and Orange Chicken, and Miso Soup, and the list can go on and on. I love it all. I especially love when I can figure out how to make them easy and delicious. That is exactly what this dish is. Easy and delicious.
I particularly love a contrast in flavors. I love food that is hot in cold (pie a la mode); I love sweet and salty (chocolate and pretzels); and I love sweet, spicy, and sour. It just makes your mouth go crazy and it makes food interesting. I think I accomplished that with this dish. Now I know that ketchup is not considered to be an essential accoutrement of culinary dishes. I mean its ketchup. Gross, right? But I see the beauty in ketchup. It can be turned into something so pointless to something magical. It can be used as the base for many sauces. Especially the sauce that I made for the Sweet and Sour Chicken Dish.
Now I must warn you, if you are sensitive to spice then you might want to add half of the chili paste required. This amount was perfect for me. Start off with a half a tablespoon and go on from there. Serve this with some rice and you have an awesome meal. Not to mention, it only takes about 30 minutes to cook. I promise you will love it. My significant other ate if for 3 days. He thought it was amazing and so will you. Let me know how you like it!
PrintFirecracker Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Description
This meal only takes 30 minutes and will make your mouth love the sweet, crave the sour, and enjoy the heat.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb. Chicken Tenderloin Strips, diced
- 2 c. flour
- 4 eggs
- 3 c. panko bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper
- 1 ½ c. ketchup
- 1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/3 c. brown sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp. Thai Chili Paste
- 3 c. vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat the oil on the stove in a large shallow pan on medium heat.
- Pour the flour and bread crumbs into separate plates. In another bowl, whisk the eggs until the whites and yolk has been well blended. Take the chicken tenderloin pieces and season with salt and pepper on all sides. Dip a few pieces of the chicken into the flour, dredge the chicken into the egg shaking off excess, and finally roll the chicken pieces into the panko bread crumbs and place into hot oil and fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown and turn to plate lined with paper towels. Repeat process for all chicken.
- In a separate mid-size sauce pan, add the ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic cloves, onion, brown sugar, and chili paste and allow to simmer for, at least, 15-20 minutes.
- NOTE: If you are sensitive to spice, start off with ½-1 tbsp. chili paste added to the sauce. If you can take more then add more as you would like. Also, the longer the sauce simmers the better the taste will be.
- Once the sauce is complete and chicken has been made, add the chicken to a large bowl and pour the sauce over top and toss so the chicken is completely coated. Serve with rice.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Asian
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