Authentic flavors and textures of food from
countries outside of the USA are sometimes worlds apart from the versions
modified for the average American palate. This fact was brought to my
attention when I attended a Chinese cooking class. Our instructor was a college professor from China who also happened to love cooking; she told us to embrace the unfamiliar ingredients we were about to encounter - they were not going to be like most of the food stuffed into those little white boxes!
Jion Liou Yen was a wonderful teacher who
not only taught how to cook her country's dishes, she gave us the history behind the food we
were to prepare.Yen introduced Szechuan, Mandarin, Cantonese and Hunan cuisine.We learned that the people who lived in cooler climate regions favored meals which included more meat and wheat flour while other regions embraced hot and
spicy flavors.
Overall, the Cantonese recipes were the most familiar to our class of
student chefs because it included egg drop soup, wontons, spring rolls, chow-mein,
pork fried rice and a wonderful Sweet and Sour Chicken.
*One thing to remember when preparing Chinese
recipes, there is a certain amount of food preparations which must be done
before the actual cooking begins. The cooking process is fast-paced, has a
certain rhythm to it and takes concentration!
This recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken is
gluten-free.
Sweet
and Sour Chicken
(pork or shrimp may be substituted for the chicken)
1 chicken breast (whole)
½ green
pepper, coarsely chopped
½ red
pepper, coarsely chopped1 C cornstarch
Oil
Marinade
1
T soy sauce (gluten free, optional)
1
T sherry or rice wine½ tsp salt (Himalayan pink, optional)
1 egg white (beat until frothy)
1 tsp sesame oil
1
T rice wine or dry sherry
1
T soy sauce1 garlic clove, minced
1/3
C rice vinegar (pineapple juice may be substituted for a less tart flavor)
1/3
-1/2 C brown sugar¼ C ketchup
¼ C chicken stock
1 T cornstarch
(taste sauce - if too sour add more sugar)
·
Cut
chicken into ¾ inch cubes. Combine marinade ingredients in a med. bowl and
combine with chicken cubes. Set aside for 30 minutes.
·
Put
pan (wok) on high heat and add oil to coat bottom.
·
Place
cornstarch in a plastic bag and toss in chicken pieces. Shake bag to coat
chicken evenly.
·
Add
coated chicken, a few pieces at a time, and cook for 3 minutes, turning to
brown evenly. Chicken should be crisp. Remove and drain on paper towel. Continue
with remaining chicken adding more oil as needed.
·
Remove
pan from heat and wipe clean with paper towel. Place back on med. high heat and
add 1 T oil. Stir in peppers and cook while stirring for about ½ minute.
·
Turn
heat down to med. and add sweet-and-sour sauce. Cook until sauce is hot.
·
Stir
in chicken, mix well. Remove from heat. Serve with rice. (serves 4)
I would make this with veggie chicken; thank you for the recipe. XOXO
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