February 10, 2007
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Tonight I tried my hand at some oriental food. Well, Americanized oriental food. While I like the spicier dishes, I have always been a sucker for sweet and sour chicken or pork.
I had never really thought about what it took to make the sweet and sour sauce. When I looked at the recipe I was surprised at how easy it was to make. The sauce was simply red wine vinegar, sugar, orange juice, and ketchup. I would have never thought of that combination. When I read those ingredients I had my doubts.
I thought I would break from tradition and show a picture of the ingredients before I began to cook them:
As you can see, I am a big fan of 'Mise en place'. I think that it reduces the anxiety of trying to get things ready while cooking. While this might be because I am new at this, I think it is something that I will continue to do as I get more comfortable in the kitchen.
I was very surprised at how easy this meal was to cook. It only took me about 45 minutes to prepare this from start to finish. For me that is quite quick! I also did not have any issues while cooking it.
I decided to serve this on a bed of rice and used a rice cooker for the white rice. Once that started cooking I started cooking the chicken. I then mixed the pineapple, onions, and spices together with the chicken and the sauce. Here is a picture of the meal once it was plated:
The meal was quite good. In fact, it was better than the last time I had this dish at the local Chinese restaurant. I will be making this one again.