What a great way to clean out the veggie drawer. I had a few odds and ends that needed to be eaten really soon. This is what I came up with. Using Freezer Favorites Chicken Cubes makes it easy.
The five spice powder is exotic and full of flavor--slightly licorice. Combined with the sweetness of Pineapple Da Vinci syrup and the tartness of garlic vinegar. Yum. John couldn't stop saying how much he liked it. He does miss his Chinese buffets..."Shiney Food" as my boys used to say when they were little. I almost named this dish after that affectionate term, but I am betting that would confuse you!
Five Spice Sweet n Sour Chicken
2 Tablespoons good quality oil
2 cups diced pre-cooked chicken
assorted veggies to stir-fry, about 5 cups
Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tablespoons sugarfree ketchup
2 Tablespoons sugarfree Pineapple Da Vinci syrup
2 Tablespoons garlic vinegar (or cider vinegar plus 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce or Bragg's Aminos
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
1 dropper of liquid stevia--or sweetener of choice to taste
3/4 teaspoon glucomannan powder or 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
Hot chili paste, optional
Chop and dice vegetables into sizes which will cook in the same amount of time. Heat oil and add vegetables, stirring lightly. Add chicken cubes. While those are cooking, prepare the sauce. Stir together all sauce ingredients except thickener. Once they are all combined, very slowly add in the glucomannan or xanthan, whisking briskly. Pour this sauce into the cooked vegetables and chicken. Stir to coat. Sauce will thicken a bit more with heat if using glucomannan. If you want a hotter dish, stir in some chili paste before serving.
I love having Freezer Favorites waiting. The chicken cubes can be turned into so many dishes, and make the prep quick and easy. The kids were eating leftover pizza, so we got this. I think it really should feed 3-4, but John and I managed to eat it all up! Dinner will be light, I think.
I made this last week when we had company over. I used a bag of frozen stir fry veggies (it had Asparagas in it!) and split a double batch of the sauce between 3 large diced chicken breasts and a small sauce pan full of cooked shrimp to make 2 variations. My pickiest eaters ate the meat and licked the sauce off their plates while the rest of us scarfed on the whole thing! I did have a little of the chicken version leftover and that made an even better lunch for me the next day (while my Mom helped clean out some of the "high carb" meals out of my freezer)!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear they liked it. I will have to try it with shrimp some time. My oldest son is allergic, so I only eat it when he is out of the house!
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