Recipe – Sweet and sour chicken Cheng Tu Style

Last weekend I was cleaning up the refrigerator of leftovers, both fresh and frozen, and ended up making one of our favorite stand-by. I have been preparing this great Szechuan recipe on a regular basis ever since I first learned it while taking Chinese cooking classes at the Chen School of Art in Montréal close to 25 years ago. It is very easy to prepare and I have cooked it with chicken, pork filet, beef filet mignon, scallops, or shrimps since then. It is normally served on a bed of stir-fried spinach, but I have rarely made it like this as I normally serve it with mixed stir-fried vegetables. The recipe I am presenting today uses what I had on hand in the refrigerator last Sunday, but could be made with a wide variety of vegetables. I also experiment a lot with the sauce’s ingredients to make it even more versatile. On Sunday I replaced the chicken with a medium-sized pork filet, that I had frozen since before the holidays, cut in 1/4" thick diagonal slices, but any meat or seafood can do in a pinch. I hope that you enjoy this quickly prepared recipe as much as we have done over the years.

Ingredients

1 pound chicken breast meat cut is bite-sized cubes
1 tsp soy sauce
1 egg yolk
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs sunflower oil
1" piece of ginger peeled and chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic chopped finely
2 green onions sliced thinly
1/2 pound broccoli florets cut in bite-sized pieces
1/2 pound cauliflower florets cut in bite-sized pieces
1 medium cucumber peeled and seeded cut in bite-sized pieces
1 small can of sliced peeled water chestnuts
1 can of baby corns cut in bite-sized pieces
1/2 pound mushrooms sliced
2 tbs sunflower oil
1 1/2 cup of chicken stock (can be made with powder)
3 tbs sugar
3 tbs sherry vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs cooking sherry
1 1/2 tsp Chinese chili paste or to taste
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs water
1 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

1. Mix the chicken cubes with the egg yolk and the soy sauce with you hands.
2. Add the cornstarch and mix until the mixture clumps together.
3. Chop vegetables and mushrooms, and put in a large bowl.
4. Chop ginger, garlic and green onions and put in a small bowl.
5. Put chicken stock, sugar, sherry, vinegar, soy sauce, and chili paste in a measuring cup and mix well together.
6. Put 2 tbs cornstarch and 2 tbs water in a small bowl and mix well together with finger.
7. Heat a large wok over high heat and add 2 tbs of oil.
8. Stir-fry chicken until firm and no longer pink in center. The chicken will easily unclump when cooked. Put it back in its bowl when cooked.
9. Put another 2 tbs of oil in the hot wok and add the ginger, garlic, and green onion followed by the vegetables and mushrooms.
10. Stir-fry until cooked but still a bit crunchy.
11. Add sauce mixture and bring to boil covered.
12. Add the reserved cooked chicken and bring to boil again.
13. Add the cornstarch/water mixture to thicken and bring to boil while stirring.
14. Add sesame oil and stir well to add shine and taste to the mixture.
15. Serve on warmed plates.

Lucito