Friday’s Fakeaway – Sweet & Sour

Sweet and sour chicken Serves 4/Preparation and cooking time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients 

• 6 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (use tamari for gluten free) 
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (add more if needed) 
• 1 tbsp wine vinegar (or use cider vinegar or lime juice) 
• 2 cloves garlic, grated 
• Small finger-sized piece fresh ginger, grated 
• ¼ tsp chilli flakes (optional) 
• 1 tsp cornflour 
• 2 large or 3 medium chicken breasts, sliced into 2 cm pieces 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 onions, halved and sliced  
• 1 red pepper, sliced 
• 1 yellow pepper, sliced 
• 1 green pepper, sliced 
• 220g pack green beans (or use other veg of choice) 
• ½ fresh pineapple, finely chopped (or use tinned pineapple in juice. Add any juice to sauce) ● Handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped 
• + Wholegrain rice or noodles to serve 

Directions:

1. Mix together the soy sauce, maple syrup, vinegar, garlic, ginger, chilli, cornflour and any  pineapple juice in a bowl to make the marinade
2. Place the chicken in a shallow dish and pour over 1/3 of the marinade. If you have time, do  this in the morning and leave in the fridge for the day. Otherwise leave to marinade for at  least 5 minutes, longer if you can
3. Heat a large non-stick wok or frying pan on a medium high heat. When the pan is very hot,  add the oil and swirl around the pan. Then add the chicken marinade mixture and cook for 5  minutes, stirring from time to time 
4. Add the vegetables and cook for a further 5 minutes, adding a little extra water as needed 5. Add the pineapple and the remaining 2/3 of the marinade and cook for a further 2 minutes,  until the vegetables are cooked but still have a crunch and the chicken is cooked through 6. Sprinkle with coriander and serve with wholegrain rice

Tips:  

This recipe is also great with tofu or prawns.  

For tofu, use extra firm smoked tofu e.g. Clearspot or Taifun. Cut into 3 cm cubes, marinade and  then cook in a little oil for 4 – 5 minutes, turning 3 or 4 times only. Remove from the pan while  cooking veggies and add back in with the pineapple and marinade. 

For prawns, chose frozen cooked prawns for best value. Allow to defrost, marinade for 30 mins and  add with the pineapple and marinade. 

You can replace the veg with frozen stir-fry veg mix, just adjust the cooking times according to the  pack instructions.