Sweet and Sour Chicken

 

When I harvest brinjal (also known as eggplant, aubergine) from my balcony garden, I will definitely cook this Japanese Sweet and Sour Chicken. Serve with rice and it will become a complete meal as this dish has chicken and loaded with many types of vegetables. I've even cooked a 'vegetarian' version i.e. without the chicken and it tasted just as good. The lotus roots are crunchy; potatoes, carrots and brinjal are soft and tender; bell peppers are sweet; and the chicken remained surprisingly crispy even after coated with vinegar sauce. I've adapted the recipe for this very colourful dish from Just One Cookbook.

Ingredients

1 chicken thigh (with skin, about 290g)

Marinade for chicken:

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon sake

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon grated garlic

Vegetables:

3 medium sized potatoes

1 section of lotus root (300-400g, I buy those that are coated with wet mud as these are tastier)

1 carrot

1 brinjal

1 large onion (cut into wedges)

1 green/red/yellow bell pepper/capsicum (cut into wedges)

Vinegar sauce:

2 tablespoon sugar

1 and a half tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Half tablespoon rice vinegar (Just One Cookbook's recipe calls for black vinegar but I don't have it in my kitchen. So I replaced with rice vinegar)

Half tablespoon mirin

Half tablespoon water

Half tablespoon sake

1 teaspoon potato starch

1 spoonful of love 

Method

1. Clean chicken thigh and cut into small pieces. Marinate it for at least half hour.

2. Cut the vegetables to small pieces/wedges. For root vegetables like carrot and potatoes which take longer to deep fry, boil them first until they are tender (about 5-10 minutes), and then drain and set aside.

3. Deep fry the vegetables until the edges are light golden. Set aside.

4. Coat the chicken pieces in potato starch just before deep frying. Deep fry in batches until they are nice golden brown in colour. Drain and set aside. 

5. Remove the oil left from frying vegetables and chicken. Heat the wok and put all the vegetables and chicken into the wok. Stir fry over medium heat until they are evenly heated. Pour the vinegar sauce over the vegetables and chicken, stir fry to combine for one to two minutes.

6. Transfer to a big bowl or plate and serve.