Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls - Chinese Takeaway Style

on

Portions: 1-2

Ingredients

For the Chicken Balls:

  • 65g of Plain Flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 eggs
  • 80ml semi-skimmed milk
  • 1/2 tbsp groundnut oil
  • 2 chicken breast fillets chopped in to suitable size pieces (around 2.5cm square should do)

For the Sweet and Sour Sauce:
  • 120ml orange juice
  • 1.5 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • 1.5 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1.5 tbsp cornflour mixed with 3 tbsp water
For Frying:
  • Enough Groundnut oil to put in a deep pan or wok so that the chicken balls will not touch the bottom
If you do not have (or cannot afford) enough of the groundnut oil to fry them in then use a flavourless oil like sunflower or vegetable oil instead.

Tip: in the oil section of the supermarkets here in the UK is where a lot of people buy a small 500ml bottle of groundnut oil for around £2.50 (that's around £5 per litre) whereas if you look in the World Foods aisle you can often find a 1litre bottle for around £4 so a 20% saving if you use that much oil...

Equipment

  • Mixing Bowl
  • Saucepan form making the sauce
  • Pan of oil for frying the balls in

Instructions

  1. Make the sauce by bunging all the ingredients (apart from the cornflour mix) in to a saucepan over a medium heat and bring to the boil.


  2. Once boiling reduce the heat to simmer for 5 minutes.
  3. Carefully pour a bit of the cornflour mix and give it a good stir.  Keep stirring and bit by bit add the rest of the cornflour and don't stop stirring!


  4. Once it's the right thickness take it off the heat and put to one side...
  5. Put the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and mix it all together


  6. In a small bowl or dish, beat the egg, milk and 1/2 tbsp groundnut oil together


  7. Pour the beaten egg mix in to the flour mix and mix all together to make a smooth thick paste
  8. Add the chopped up chicken to the batter and mix well ensuring every part of the chicken is covered


  9. Heat the oil to 170° in a suitable deep pan or wok - make sure there is enough oil so that the chicken balls do not touch the bottom
  10. Carefully place the chicken in to the oil one at a time (to avoid any splashing)


  11. Fry the balls in small batches for 5-6 minutes at a time
  12. If you have a food thermometer then they should reach an internal temperature of 78°


  13. Place the cooked chicken balls on a plate that has some kitchen paper on it

Serving Suggestion(s)

Serve with the sweet and sour dipping sauce you made earlier and it goes very well with some home made Egg Fried Rice and some Prawn Crackers!


Comments

Post a Comment