I was in the mood for a little something different in the way of chicken – mebbe a stir fry? – but nothing on da Google was looking all that interesting.
Hmmm… sweet and sour pork with a vinegar marinade twist? I believe mebbe I can work with this!
I still went with the chicken, and added some of my sherry peppers sauce to spice things up, but feel free to use pork and cut out the spicy sauce, if you like.
All is good.
INGREDIENTS
Marinade:
•1-1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
•Sea salt (a pinch)
Sauce:
•2 tbsp rice vinegar
•3 tbsp ketchup
•1 tbsp pineapple juice
•2 tbsp sherry peppers sauce*
•1 tbsp corn starch
•1/3 cup water
•3 tbsp sugar
•1/2 tsp salt
Stir Fry:
•1 lb chicken, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
•3 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•Pinch sugar
•Pinch salt
•2 carrots, thinly sliced
•5 scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, divided
•1 green pepper, sliced thin
•Pineapple chunks (optional)
Cut the chicken (or pork tenderloin) into pieces and toss in a bowl with the balsamic vinegar and the pinch of sea salt to coat. Let rest for fifteen minutes while you prep the veggies and…
make the sauce by combining the corn starch with the water until blended, then stirring in the other ingredients. Set aside.
Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat and drizzle in two tablespoons of oil.
Add the chicken (or pork) and stir fry until it firms up and looks (mostly) cooked, about two minutes. Don’t fret if it isn’t totally cooked through at this point.
Remove the chicken to a plate, add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, then add the garlic along with a pinch each of sugar and salt and stir fry for about 20 seconds.
Add the carrots, white and light green bits of scallion (the dark bits will turn bitter if cooked, save them to garnish the finished dish), and green pepper and stir fry for five minutes. If the veggies begin to stick, drizzle a bit of water into the pan.
Add the chicken, then stir in the sauce, add the pineapple chunks, if you’re using them, and cook for five to ten minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened a bit.
Your stir fry is done.
We had ours over rice, with the dark scallion bits sprinkled over the top and it was good – the sherry peppers sauce added a nice (for us) bit of heat which worked nicely with the sweetness of the pineapple.
*If you cannot find, or don’t want to make, sherry peppers sauce, but still want to add a bit of spice to your dish, try Sriracha or Thai sweet chili sauces.