Note: I wrote this blog in 2012, which means it’s no longer the Year of the Dragon. If you’re planning a Chinese New Year celebration, be sure to check out Healthy Asian Favorites from Steamy Kitchen.
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Gong Xi Fa Ca! That’s Mandarin for “wishing you prosperity.” The Chinese New Year holiday is based on a lunisolar calendar, which calculates both lunar and solar activity. Each Chinese year is associated with one of twelve symbolic zodiac animals: Dragon, Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Snake, Horse, and Ram (or Goat). In 2012, the Chinese will welcome the Year of the Dragon. The holiday is celebrated with 15 days of fireworks and feasting, leading up to a traditional Lantern Festival on the first full moon of the Chinese year.
When I heard that Chinese New Year starts this week, I wanted to cook something tasty to celebrate. Admittedly, I don’t know much about Chinese food. I enjoy eating it, but when it comes to cooking it I’m sort of a novice. I’ve experimented here and there with recreating Chinese dishes from restaurants, but for the Chinese New Year I thought it best to seek help from an expert. I immediately thought of one of my favorite food bloggers (and people!), Jaden Hair from SteamyKitchen.com. Jaden was born in Hong Kong and grew up in America. She learned traditional Chinese cooking from her mom via cell phone. After moving to a small town in Florida with her husband and discovering a lack of authentic Chinese markets or restaurants there, she sought cooking advice from her Chinese mother in California. Jaden racked up close to $450 in cell phone minutes– which, as she puts it, “is way cheaper than three years at a fancy culinary institute.” Around that time, she started her famous blog Steamy Kitchen, which eventually turned into one of the most popular food sites on the internet!
Jaden and I met last summer at the BlogHer conference in San Diego and became fast friends. I went out and bought her first book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, which is filled with easy Asian-inspired recipes that you can easily recreate at home. I love the simplicity of these recipes… most of them are so quick, you can take them from stove to table in 30 minutes or less. Can’t beat that!
A heads up for my kosher readers– The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook is not kosher. Chinese cuisine is all about pork, shellfish, and copious amounts of oyster sauce. But the book does have some yummy recipes that will work for a kosher diet, including the one I’m sharing with you today– Sweet and Sour Chicken. If you don’t keep kosher and you like Asian-inspired food, this cookbook is definitely worth a look!
Of this Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe, Jaden writes:
“This dish is for my husband, Scott, who totally digs the standard Chinese take-out… after 2 years of living in Florida, Scott started showing an interest in shopping and offered to take me to the mall several times… And then it hit me. He wanted to take me to the mall because he was craving Panda Express, a Chinese fast food chain located in malls and airports. I’d be in the dressing room, shimmying into some fancy jeans and Scott would sneak off, order Sweet and Sour Chicken or Orange Chicken and scoff it down. Ahhh… my American husband was craving the Chinese-American classics…”
I love Chinese takeout, and the recipe didn’t require any unfamiliar ingredients, so I thought this would be fun to try for the Chinese New Year. I found the dish to be pretty tasty as written. The only change I made was adding a couple pinches of cayenne pepper for heat. Add the cayenne with care if you’re sensitive to spice. I also found that letting the dish rest for 10 minutes after preparation allowed the sauce to thicken, which made the chicken saucier and more delish. You can easily make this gluten free by using a certified GF cornstarch, vinegar, and ketchup. You’ll love how easy the dish is, and you may have the ingredients on hand already– it won’t require a special trip to an Asian market. It takes less than 30 minutes to make (including prep time). It’s also much lighter than the batter-fried Sweet and Sour Chicken served by many Chinese restaurants. Who needs all that fried fatty coating when you have so much flavor in the sauce?
This recipe is healthy, affordable, fast, and a fun way to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Serving it over jasmine rice stretches the dish to 4 servings. Give it a try! And be sure to stop by Jaden’s blog to say hello, I’m sure you’ll love it (and her!) as much as I do. 🙂
P.S. I was born during the Year of the Ram (some say the Year of the Goat– I think Ram sounds cooler though). What’s your Chinese zodiac animal?
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Steamy Kitchen Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 large egg white
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 8-10 ounces pineapple chunks in juice (reserve the juice)
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1-2 pinches cayenne pepper (or more to taste-- spicy!)
- 2 tablespoons high heat cooking oil, divded (ex. grapeseed, peanut oil)
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1/2 tablespoon sliced green scallions for garnish (optional)
NOTES
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the egg white, cornstarch, and 1/4 tsp of the salt. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat evenly. Let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile, whisk together 1/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice, ginger, vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, remaining 1/4 tsp of salt, and 1-2 pinches cayenne pepper (or more to taste--optional).
- Set a wok or large saute pan over high heat. When a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates, pour in 1 tbsp of the oil and swirl to coat. Add the red and yellow bell pepper chunks and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the wok onto a plate. Wipe the wok or pan dry.
- Return the wok to the stove on high heat. When a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates, pour in the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and swirl to coat (be sure to fully coat the pan so the meat won't stick). Add the chicken to the pan, spreading it out in one layer.Let the chicken fry, untouched, for 1 minute, until the bottoms are browned. Flip and fry the other side the same for 1 minute. The chicken will still be pinkish in the middle.
- Add the cooked bell peppers, pineapple chunks, and pineapple juice mixture to the pan. Let simmer for about 2 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes till the sauce thickens.
- Garnish with sliced scallions, if desired. Serve warm as part of a multicourse meal, or over jasmine rice for a complete entree.
Nutrition
Hi Tori,
Your recipe reminded me that I had this dish made with Tofu instead of chicken (I’m a vegetarian). Do you have any hints/ideas for adapting this to substituting tofu for the chicken? Thanks much.
Alice.
Hi Alice– I’m very sensitive to soy, it affects my hormones, so I don’t eat or cook tofu very often (which is a bummer, because I like it a lot!). I think that you should use a firm tofu, and you can probably cook it the same way that you would with chicken– but since I haven’t tried it myself, I can’t promise anything.
Can I use ginger liqueur in this recipe?
This looks absolutely delicious. I’m putting this on my menu next week!
Wow, this loooks delicious. I love sweet and sour. Congrats on the Top 9.
What a gorgeous (and simple) dish! Well done. Looks soo tasty.
Looks fantastic, and I love how colorful this is! 🙂 I miss Chinese food (spent last summer in China) and a always looking for good ways to recreate the flavors at home.
This is probably my most favorite take out dish, but I do need to start making this at home. You did a wonderful job bringing this together and the picture is stunning. Definitely the first sweet and sour recipe I am going to make! Enjoy the day!
This sweet and sour chicken looks amazing! Beautiful photos too!
For someone who does not know a whole lot about Chinese food you sure did make a delicious looking dish!
This looks great–so much better than takeout!
One of my favorite Chinese dishes! This looks delicious! I love the Chinese New Year, I work with two Chinese men and they always bring in some delicious goodies afterward! 🙂
Happy Chinese New Year! This stir-fry looks delicious, Tory…as always! How nice of you to make it!
Oh my I am swooning. Two of my faves in one place today. Be still my heart. You know I adore you Tori. I also adore and worship Jaden. When I first started blogging, and didn’t know how to behave, I sent Jaden an email about giving her an award. She actually very sweetly wrote me back. She even visited my blog a few times. I look back on that and laugh at my bold and silly self. Now if I met Jaden I would probably pass out or mumble like a school girl. This recipe is so fresh and beautiful. Jaden’s book is on my list of cookbooks to buy. Cannot wait till I can purchase it.
Oh YUM! This is my family’s favorite meal! Thank you for sharing this!
Beautiful…so vibrant and lovely! I was born in the year of the rat…lucky me 🙂
The colors in this dish are absolutely lovely! I am going to make this, and serve it with steamed rice. Only, I’ll be using orange and red bell pepper as that’s what I have on hand. 🙂
i love this! picture by picture is the best. gives it a more understanding sense.
I don’t my Chinese year animal, but I can say that this is way better than take out because you know what’s in it. GREG
Wow, that looks absolutely delicious. Such vibrant and rich colors. I have no idea what my Chinese year is (though I’d say ram instead of goat too if we shared the same year)!
Gong Xi Fa Ca! to you, Tori! So wish someone would bring me this for lunch. right now! 😉