Once upon a time, I was cookbook obsessed. I couldn’t enter a bookstore without buying one. Even stalls selling second hand books did not escape my attention. There was just always something too good to leave behind.
It was in a second hand bookstore where I found Williams-Sonoma Savoring China (Savoring Series) by Jacki Passmore. The photography was beautiful, I scanned the recipes and they did not seem complicated. I bought it. It wasn’t until I was going over the recipes in earnest when I wondered if I had been too rash in making the purchase.
Yes, the recipes were easy (and that’s always good for practical home cooks) but, for an Asian, they seemed to lack punch. It felt like watching the 1980 TV adaptation of James Clavell’s Shogun. It looks Asian but is not really Asian. Still good though even if rather tame.
Don’t take that as an outright criticism of the book. It is a competently written cookbook. But be warned that the recipes were obviously meant to be unintimidating to Americans who are trying to forge an acquaintance with Chinese cooking. They’re the target market of the publisher, after all. If you’re Asian or if you’re a Westerner who has visited Asia and enjoyed local food, well, most of the recipes might seem boring. Still, there are a few good ones.
This is my adaptation of one of the recipes from the book. Essentially a sweet sour chicken dish, the addition of chopped pineapple results in a chunky and beautifully colored sauce. The inclusion of chili sauce adds a little kick to the heat provided by the generous amount of grated ginger.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thigh fillets (skin on or skinless, either will work)
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon salt
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili sauce
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons sliced scallions
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ cup chopped pineapple
To fry the chicken:
- 2 whole eggs lightly beaten
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- cooking oil for deep frying
- sliced scallions to garnish
Instructions
Prep the chicken
- Pat the chicken fillets dry and cut into half-inch strips.
- Dump into a bowl, add the ginger and salt, and mix well.
Make the sauce
- Mix the rice wine vinegar, chili sauce, cornstarch, sugar, salt and pepper with half a cup of water in a bowl.
- Pour in the vinegar-starch mixture. Cook, stirring, until thick and clear.
- Heat the cooking oil in a sauce pan. Over medium heat, saute the scallions, ginger and garlic for half a minute.
- Add the chopped pineapple and cook for another minute.
- Turn off the heat. Cover the pan to keep the sauce hot.
Fry the chicken
- Make the batter for the chicken by stirring together the eggs, flour and starch.
- Add the marinated chicken strips and mix well to coat each piece with batter.
- In a wok or frying pan, heat enough cooking to reach a depth of at least two inches.
- When fine wisps of smoke start to float on the oil surface, fry the battered chicken strips, in batches if necessary, until lightly browned and crisp.
Serve
- Pile the fried chicken strips on a platter. Pour the pineapple sauce over them. Sprinkle sliced scallions on top.
- Serve the crisp-fried chicken with pineapple sauce with rice.
