Chinese Pineapple Chicken

Well, first things first, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  I hope ya'll had a good time and made sure to eat your collard greens, black eyed peas and cornbread.  I made, probably the best batch of my collard green soup ever, while visiting my friend, Greg, in North Carolina, where they still have Harris Teeter or as my grandmother used to call it "Teeters".

 

Meanwhile back at home, I've not been to the grocery store since before Christmas and I wanted to cook tonight, so I rummaged thru my recipes and pantry and came up with Chinese Pineapple Chicken.  I've been wanting to make this for awhile because I love Chinese food, but the only Chinese restaurant I'll eat at here in Montgomery is Ming's Garden, but they don't deliver and it's kinda far away.  So if I could make some good-ass Chinese food at home - all problems solved.  Plus I know exactly what goes into it!

Let's get started, shall we?  Ok, so I was kind of a nerd and prepped all my ingredients this time using the new prep cups my aunt gave me for Christmas.  I was waiting on the brown rice to cook, so I figured why not?  No one in their right mind would normally do this.

 First, cut four chicken breasts into medium-sized chunks/

[ASIDE: Now this is where I would like to say, thoroughly read your recipe when you decide to make it because I didn't read it this morning and was quite surprised to find out it required 2 hours of marinating.  To the average person, this would pose a problem, but to those of us lucky enough to have a FoodSaver®  we don't need no stinkin' 2 hours.]

Anyway, the point is:  Mix your soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and eggs together, pour into a large bowl and add your chicken chunks . Cover and let marinate in fridge for 2 hours or an hour if you've got the marinating container for your FoodSaver®.

After the chicken's marinated, add flour and cornstarch to the chicken to create a thick batter.

[NOTE: If you've got a container with a lid, I would transfer the chicken and marinade into that before adding the flour and cornstarch since shaking the mixture is a great way to evenly distribute the batter over the chicken.]  

See?

Next, heat oil in large frying pan or wok on medium high heat. Add chicken and fry until browned, turning when necessary. Be patient frying the chicken chunks, frying them too quickly will make them ugly and have dark brown burned spots on them. 

Also, monitor your oil temperature, adding oil if necessary and adjusting the heat if the chicken seems to be cooking too fast or slow.  Frying can be tricky, so take your time.

I did my frying in 6 small batches since I didn't have enough oil to use my huge Calphalon pan.  [Remember the whole "haven't been to the grocery store in a month" thing.]  Once each batch is done, transfer it to either a paper towel-lined cookie sheet or a cooling rack on top of a paper towel-lined cookie sheet.  A slotted metal spoon or tongs are perfect for removing the chicken from the oil.

While your chicken is cooking, move onto the yummy pineapple sauce. 

In a medium saucepan, combine pineapple chunks and pineapple juice. Bring to a boil then add your brown sugar and soy sauce, and let simmer for 7 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water into a paste.

Stir the paste into the boiling sauce, turn heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally until thick enough to coat a spoon.

Finally, pour chicken pieces and sauce into a large bowl and mix until thoroughly coated.

I chose to serve mine over a bed of brown rice because it's yummy and good for me!  Now, unfortunately, I am kind of congested today and haven't really tasted anything all day, BUT what I could taste was awesome!  And I'm totally eating leftovers all week long! :)

Enjoy!!

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Chinese Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken and Marinade:

4 chicken breasts

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. sesame oil

2 eggs

1/2 tsp pepper

6 Tbsp flour

6 Tbsp cornstarch

corn or canola oil for frying

Sauce:

2 cups pineapple chunks

2 cups pineapple juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch + 2 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp soy sauce

Instructions: 

Cut four chicken breasts into medium-sized chunks.

Mix your soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and eggs together, pour into a large bowl and add your chicken chunks . Cover and let marinate in fridge for 2 hours or an hour if you've got the marinating container for your FoodSaver®.

Add flour and cornstarch to chicken to create a thick batter. 

Heat oil in large frying pan on medium high heat. 

Add chicken in small batches and fry until it is browned, turning when necessary. 

Once each batch is done, transfer it to either straight onto a paper towel-lined cookie sheet or a cooling rack on top of a paper towel-lined cookie sheet.  *TIP: A slotted metal spoon or tongs are perfect for removing the chicken from the oil.

In a medium saucepan, combine the pineapple and pineapple juice. Bring to a boil, add brown sugar and soy sauce, and simmer for 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water into a paste.

Stir the paste into the boiling sauce, turn heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally until thick enough to coat a spoon. 

Pour chicken pieces and sauce into a large bowl and mix until thoroughly coated.

Serve on a bed of white or brown rice.