Sour chicken is a very sweet dish that is popular in America. Sweet and sour chicken is the product of sour chicken that is usually made using a mixture of chicken breasts that are cut into sizable pieces. These pieces are then coated with batter, added some onions, pineapples, and pepper then cooked.
Cooking sweet and sour chicken takes quite some time because the ingredients needed are very many and consume a lot of time to prepare. It is a delicious meal that is prepared in a few steps as long as it has all the ingredients required.
This article is about sweet and sour chicken, it explains the simple steps that one can follow when cooking the food. It includes the various tools to be used during preparation, a list of the required ingredients, and some of the methods that can be used to preserve the dish.
Tools used to cook sweet and sour chicken
1. A slicer
This is a special tool that is used for slicing ingredients like onions into small desired sizes. All the ingredients that require some slicing have their type of slicers
2. A peeler
This is a tool that is used for peeling purposes. In this case, it is used to peel pineapples.
3. A multipurpose knife
This is a special knife used for cutting meat into desired sizes. It is also used for slicing ingredients if one does not have a slicer.
4. A measuring cup
This is a cup that is used to measure ingredients accurately. It has some measurements on its sides for measuring purposes.
5. A teaspoon
This is used to add small amounts of ingredients a repeated number of times.
6. A stand mixer
It is a tool used to mix Ingredients to obtain the required solution.
7. A wooden spoon
This is a spoon that is mostly used for stirring.it does not react with most of this ingredient therefore it can last for a long duration of time.
8. A stirrer
This is a tool that is specifically designed for stirring purposes when cooking.
9. A bowl
It is usually a large bowl and is used to hold the prepared ingredients when preparing.
10. Paper towels
This is a special towel that is used to drain some oil. In this case, it is used to drain all the oil from the fried chicken.
11. A skillet
This is the tool that is used for cooking. It is sometimes replaced by a pan or an oven depending on the type of food to be prepared.
Ingredients
a) 2 pounds (450 grams) boneless chicken breasts
b) 1 1/2 green peppers
c) 5 pieces of sliced pineapple
d) ½ cup (65 g) of corn starch
e) 2 small or medium size onions
f) 5 tablespoons vinegar (apple cider)
g) 1 cup of sugar (granulated)
h) 5 tablespoons ketchup
i) ¾ teaspoons of oil (sesame)
j) 4 tablespoons cornstarch
k) 7 tablespoons water
l) ½ cup of ketchup
m) 3 tablespoons of soy sauce (low-sodium)
n) 2 tablespoons of (light brown) packed sugar
o) Salt and pepper
Procedure
Step 1
Use a bowl to put the freshly cut pieces of chicken, usually equal cubes.
Step 2
Add cornstarch to the mixture to coat the chicken pieces and stir to mix completely.
Steep 3
Grease the skillet and then heat it to 300 or 350 degrees Celsius. Deep fry the pieces of chicken for almost 5 minutes until the chicken turns golden brown.
Step 4
Use paper towels to drain the pieces of meat after you remove them from the skillet.
Step 5
Half-cut pepper to remove the seeds and white rib then cut it into small equal cubes.
Step 6
Slice the pineapples and onions into the required size of cubes.
Step 7
Grease the skillet and heat pepper, onions, and pineapple cubes.
Step 8
To the skillet containing heated pepper, onions, and pineapples, add vinegar, ketchup, sesame oil, and sugar then completely mix the mixture using a wooden spoon.
Step 9
Add the fried pieces of chicken to the pieces containing the other contents and cook for about 30 minutes.
Step 10
Using a small bowl, mix 5 tablespoons of corn starch and water then stir with a stirrer, then transfer it to the skillet and stir so that the mixture does not clump until the sauce becomes thick.
Methods of preservation
Various methods can be used to preserve sweet and sour chicken these methods include;
i. Refrigeration
The food can simply be preserved by storing it in a well-maintained refrigerator. The food is put in a dish that is well covered so that it does not pour out in the fridge before cooling. The food can stay in the fridge for about 1 to 3 months.
ii. Storing the dish with sauce
The sauce does not go bad easily, so it is very important to store the food with it. When preserved using this method, it takes about 4 to 5 days before the food goes bad.
iii. Storing the food in a freezer
Freezing the food is almost the same as refrigerating it but the difference is that the food is stored in a freezer. The food is wrapped well then is stored in the freezer. It is best when storing food for a long period.
You might be interested to read also our another delicious recipe of: How to Prepare Proper Cajun Chicken- Easy Recipe
Frequently asked questions:
- Question1: How can the sauce be prepared?
Answer: The sauce is prepared by simply mixing granulated and brown sugar. Also add some pieces of pineapple, to help in reducing the amount of sugar used, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ketchup to make it sweet and sour.
- Question 2: What are the nutrients obtained from sour chicken?
Answer: the nutrients we obtain from chicken include; 5 grams of fats, cholesterol 70 mg, 760 mg of sodium, 755 mg of potassium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 30 grams of protein, and other nutrients.
Conclusion
Chicken is very sweet. It can be prepared in so many ways to make it even more delicious. It is a healthy meal that is rich in several nutrients. It can be eaten with other foods or just alone without anything else.
Sweet and sour chicken as the name suggests, is a very sweet meal that has a sour taste. It is a very good meal because it acts as an appetizer to some people because of its sour taste. It does not affect the body unless consumed in excess.