Sweet 'n' Sour Chicken

Everyone I know loves sweet and sour and it's no wonder to find that every food community has a dish using those two tongue tinglers.

Others not as well known as the Asian Sweet and Sour, is the Italian's agrodolce, the French have a gastrique and in Latin Amercian cultures there is the picadillo.
What do we have? We have cranberry sauce, pepper jelly and just about any chutney you can think of.

Let's face it peeps, humans love sweet and sour. 

It is said that most food historians agree the sweet and sour started with the Arabs and made it's way up the spice trail into Asia, where they took it and ran. Today, it is still served in China and beloved by all and not just a staple in Chinese Take-Out joints.

Creating this recipe required that I do quite a bit of research. Anyone who reads this blog will know I am open to using packet seasonings. Not all of them, but most of them. There are many sweet and sour sauces that come in a bottle or a packet. I checked them all and in this instance, the homemade sauce was better than them, was just as easy (all in a blender) and still met the 30 minute meal criteria. I have read (and maybe you also) that 1 tablespoon of sweet and sour sauce was considered a FREE food, I wasn't sure which one they were referring too, the bottled kind, the packet style or the homemade.

I went back to the Internet and clicked a few more buttons and this is what I found out......
Any food or drink that has less than 20 calories and 5 grams or less of carbohydrate a serving is a free food.

My sweet and sour sauce is only 1 tablespoon per serving, has 15 calories and 2g of sugar....yay for me, yay for US!!
Most take-out and regular home recipes out there have so much thick viscous sauce it has made this favorite off limits to diabetics and even Low Carb dieters (South Beach, Atkins, etc). I will sauce the chicken only and place it over a basic stir-fry (using a spicy stir-fry oil), and every mouthful will have the flavor of sweet, sour and spicy.

Now that's what I call a BIG YAY FOR US!!

Any 2 cups of mixed vegetables are acceptable including broccoli, snow peas, zucchini, bok choy and mine.

I chose quinoa (I am not a brown rice fan) as my side but brown rice is on the menu and it works well.


Sweet and Sour Sauce
makes 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons)

* 6oz unsweetened pineapple juice, reduced to 1/2 cup
* 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon Truvia, Splenda or heat stable sugar sub
* 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
* 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon pureed roasted red pepper
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch + 1 teaspoon water, combined

* 6 ounces roasted chicken breast, sliced into strips across the grain

1. Place all ingredients, except chicken, into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Remove and reserve.

Vegetable Stir-Fry
makes 3 servings

* 1 medium carrot, sliced thin on a diagonal
* 4 ounces Shiitake or Oyster mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
* 2 scallions, julienned
* 1/4 green pepper, sliced into 1" pieces
* 1 tablespoon Szechuan Stir-fry oil
* 1 scallion, green part only, sliced
* 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)

1. Heat frying pan till it is screaming hot. make sure all your vegetables are prepared and ready to so.
2. Add oil and carrots and peppers. Stir continuously until the edges start to brown and the pepper skins blister. Add the mushrooms and julienned scallions and continue to stir and fry until the mushrooms are cooked.
3. Season with salt & pepper and remove to a warmed platter.
4. Add the chicken to the fry pan and stir to warm through. Add three tablespoons of the sweet and sour sauce, turn off the heat and stir to coat the chicken.

To serve: Place the vegetables evenly on the bottom of a serving platter. Spoon the sauced chicken over the vegetables and garnish with the sliced green scallion tops and sesame seeds.

Stir-Fry with Sweet and Sour Chicken - no starch

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Vegetables and Quinoa

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Vegetables and Brown Rice