Sweet and Sour Chicken

2 teaspoons cornstarch (I usually use about 4 teaspoons)
2/3 cup cold water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
dash of garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons catsup
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 cups cooked chicken cubes (can use cooked chicken strips, cooked whole boneless, skinless breasts, or possibly cooked pork, also)
1 cup pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
1 tomato sliced
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 1/2 cups cooked rice

Combine cornstarch and water in a sauce pot and mix thoroughly. Add sugar, soy, garlic salt, ginger, pepper, catsup, and vinegar. Stir to blend. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Add cooked chicken, pineapple, green pepper, and tomato to the sauce and simmer until ingredients are warmed through. Stir once or twice to prevent sticking. Pour into serving dish. Garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with rice.

TIM'S NOTES: As I said, I usually add a little more cornstarch to the sauce as I think it is too thin. We also make just the sauce (without the chicken, pineapple, and vegetables) to eat with egg rolls. I am sure you could substitute any other kind of cooked meat for the chicken. Sometimes I add the fresh tomato, and sometimes I don't. I am not sure it is particularly necessary. I got this recipe from my college roommate, Matt Robertson. My family used to eat this sweet and sour chicken on New Year's Eve.

Spicy Mango Sweet Potato Chicken

2 cups cubed peeled sweet potatoes
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 clove of garlic minced
6 Tablespoons tamari soy sauce
3/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons honey
1 ripe mango, peeled and cubed
3 Tablespoons hot sauce, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon warm water

1. Place the sweet potatoes into a saucepan and fill with enough water to cover. Simmer over medium high heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Draiand set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Stir in chicken, and cook until no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes; set aside. Stir garlic into the skillet, and cook for a few minutes, until fragrant. Pour in the soy sauce, 3/4 cup water, honey and hot sauce. Bring to a simmer, and then stir in the sweet potato, chicken, mango, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until hot. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1 Tablespoon of water, and stir into the simmering mixture. Stir until thickened.

TIM"S NOTES: I deleted the hot sauce and red chili flakes, and added 3 Tablespoons of my favorite chipotle chili puree found elsewhere in this blog. I also used regular soy sauce instead of tamari. And the last change I made was that I dissolved the cornstarch in water, and added it first and thickened the sauce. I then added the sweet potato, mango, and chicken. Makes more sense to me to thicken the sauce first without the chunky bits. I think I used about 2 teaspoons of cornstarch as well. I thought the sauce needed to be a little thicker. Maybe that's because I left the chicken juices in the pan when I sauteed the garlic. I served it over cooked rice.