Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is a very easy recipe and the sauce can be used in a variety of ways. It lends itself to chicken and shrimp quite nicely, and of course any asian type dish that would use a sweet and sour sauce. I also use it with kabobs on the grill and as a dipping sauce.  My sister in Oregon gave me this recipe which was given to her by a friend. So it has been passed around because it is so easy and delicious. Use a heavy saucepan and a medium heat to cook this, stirring frequently, as the sugar will burn and stick on a higher heat if not melted properly. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 lg can (15-20 oz) pineapple chunks (use just a small portion in sauce, and save the rest for another use)

reserved juice from pineapple (approx. 1 cup)

Add all ingredients to small saucepan and cook, stirring frequently over medium heat until bubbly and thickened, stirring constantly at the bubbly stage. Sauce will thicken quickly at that point. Immediately remove from heat.

If making sauce ahead of time, keep at room temperature if serving within an hour or so. If you wish to keep sauce longer, store in refrigerator. Sauce will solidify somewhat, but will liquify once heated in microwave or slowly in saucepan.

This makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of sauce, enough to serve 4-6. This recipe can easily be doubled

To make Sweet and Sour Chicken, just place frozen chicken tenders or boneless breasts in a covered baking dish, along with a few frozen vegetables, (use only enough to pretty up the sauce, don't smother the chicken or the sauce will separate) such as a stir fry blend, pepper strips, cocktail onions, etc. and pour sauce over all. (You can also use fresh chicken and fresh vegetables, but reduce baking time to 35 minutes.) At this point you can add more pineapple reserved from sauce. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

I like to serve this with rice and steamed broccoli.

To bake the rice, use a covered baking dish, add the same amount of rice and water as the directions call for, but boil the water first in a teakettle. Add a tbsp of cooking oil, or butter, cover and bake along with chicken. Bake brown rice the full 45 minutes, but only bake white rice 35 minutes. I have even baked the type of rice with the seasoning mix in a box. But Rice a Roni does not work, unless you brown the rice with the little vermicelli first in a frying pan.