Sweet-Sour Chicken Dippers
Meet the Cook: Since you can chop up all the ingredients the night before, this can be ready in about 30 minutes. So it's a great after-work dinner. You can also serve it as a snack or an appetizer...similar to chicken nuggets. I've even substituted quail for the chicken, and it was delicious. Next, I may try it with pork!
-Kari Caven, Post Falls, Idaho
SERVINGS
|
16
|
CATEGORY
|
Appetizer
|
METHOD
|
Deep-Frying
|
PREP |
40 min. |
COOK
|
10 min.
|
TOTAL
|
50 min.
|
INGREDIENTS
- 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- BATTER:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1-1/3 cups cold water
- Oil for deep-fat frying
- 1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
DIRECTIONS
Drain pineapple, reserving juice. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, tomatoes, vinegar, onion, green pepper, soy sauce, ginger and pineapple. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine cornstarch and the reserved pineapple juice until smooth; add to tomato mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; set aside.
For the batter, in a small bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and water until smooth.
In a deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Dip chicken pieces in batter; drop into oil and fry about 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and juices run clear. Serve immediately with sweet-sour sauce. Yield: 4 dozen appetizers.