Sweet & Sour Chicken

This recipe is a combination of two recipes from two different friends, Heather and Irene. The two morphed into one, plus a few little tweaks of my own, and it's one of our favorites!

boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks (2-4, depending on size)

four

beaten egg

oil, to fry

Dip chicken in egg, then flour and fry in hot oil until brown and crispy. Heat over to 350. Place chicken on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Sauce:

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1 Tbs. cornstarch

1/3 c. apple cider or red wine vinegar (any vinegar you've got will do)

1/3 c. chicken broth

1Tbs. soy sauce

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

chopped green pepper... as much or little as you like, chopped as fine or chunky as you like.

1 Tbs. crushed red cherry pepper

Sesame seeds for garnish, optional

Let's just stop right here and discuss this "crushed red cherry pepper". I had never heard of until about a year ago and it's now a "must have" in my house! It's really the "secret ingredient" in this sauce, although it's not much of a secret if I tell you about it, is it? It is not overly hot.
Let me just establish that fact! My husband is not one for the super spicy stuff (although I love it). It's flavorful... just enough pop to really make you go My goodness that's delicious! It doesn't hit up over the head with a spicy pepper taste. Of course, you should experiment and see what your preferences are. I like to double this sauce and so I add a big heaping tablespoon of it. I also use this stuff whenever a recipe calls for pimento because it's just easy to keep it in your fridge and not worry about buying a fresh pepper and the hassle of dicing it up. And again... it's got wonderful exciting flavor without being overtly spicy. No one will believe me because I have a reputation for liking spicy foods but you'll be missing out if ya don't give this a try!

This B&G brand was found in the condiment aisle, near pickles and olives. I used to buy Cora Imports brand which was in the Italian foods section by tomato sauces but recently, they made their jar smaller (but kept the same price- GRRRR!) and the contents were somehow watery. Weird. So I'm thrilled to have found this cheaper, just as good as Cora used to be brand!

In a small sauce pan, combine sugar and corn starch. Stir in other ingredients. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.

Put fried chicken in a casserole dish and pour sauce on top, gently stir to coat. Cover and bake... if your chicken is already cooked, you can skip baking. I like having that time to clean and set the table... it seems to make it all mesh and multiple in yumminess! ;)

In this picture, that was 3 medium sized chicken breasts and I made a double batch of the sauce because Seth likes lots of sauce. Serve over rice, or just dig right in! I often use a whole green pepper and leave it in big chunks just to make the meal bigger. We love peppers here, and they ARE a veggie! This may possibly be the most unhealthy thing I make on a regular basis but hey, you only live once!