I don’t think this recipe is traditional Chinese in any way and I have no idea where it originated from but everyone in my family makes it and it is everyones favourite (not exaggerating lol). The main component that makes this a Chinese inspired dish is the sweet and sour sauce that goes with the chicken and the rice, without it the dish would be pretty bland. Whats really nice is that the sauce uses basic cupboard ingredients so there are no fancy things you need to buy. You can also use whatever vegetables you have for the stir fry, you could even use frozen mixed vegetables. In that way it becomes a very tasty, filling and affordable dish for a family.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!

Ingredients: Serves 4*

• 4 chicken breasts, cut in half and tenderised with a meat mallet
• 1 tsp ground green chilli
• 2Tb Soya Sauce
• salt to taste (optional)
• lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar

Method:

1. Marinate chicken in above ingredients.
2. Cook in a frying pan with a little bit of oil, turning over once there is good caramelisation. You can add a little bit of water to help it steam and cook quicker but this is not necessary.

Tips:

1. If the pieces of chicken are thin, they will cook quickly otherwise you can add a little bit of water or cover the chicken with a lid. There should be no water leftover once the chicken has cooked, it should be dry and the chicken should still be moist.

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 2 Tb tomato sauce
• 1 tsp green chillies, ground
• 2 Tb soya sauce
• Corn flour (1Tb mixed with water into a slurry)

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients in a pot to boil.
2. Once the sugar has dissolved add the corn flour/water mixture and whisk quickly.
3. Once the sauce has thickened take off the heat.

Tips:

1. The sauce recipe makes a lot – I often use half of the required sugar or a sugar substitute. If you use half of the sugar use 1/4 cup vinegar.
2. After adding the corn flour the colour of the sauce will go from clear to opaque. Wait for the sauce to boil, when the corn flour has cooked the colour will go back to clear. If the sauce is still cloudy it means the corn flour has not cooked fully.
3. Once the sauce is thick do not carry on boiling. Take it off the heat and only put it back on to reheat later. If you boil for too long you will reduce the sauce too much and will throw the balance out.
4. Take any combination of veggies for the stir fry veggies. You can cook them separately or add frozen mixed vegetables to your cooked rice and steam together in the microwave.
5. You can add sliced onion and garlic to your stir fry, add the veggies to the rice like I did or leave it separate. I did not season the veggies with salt as there is quite a lot of soya sauce throughout the dish and since you are eating it with the sauce it is not necessary.