When the weekend hits so does the urge to eat everything in sight… or maybe this is just me.
I can be healthy enough Monday to Friday afternoon, but come Friday evening I always feel the need to reward myself usually with food and booze. This is regardless of whether I’ve had a particularly productive week or not. This weekend with the #HerFamBodyProject going reasonably well*, I will be attempting to keep up the healthy efforts with this healthy(ish) sweet ‘n’ sour chicken.
* I only fell off the wagon once and rage-ate a Snickers on Tuesday.
Sweet ‘n’ Sour Fake Away
Serves 2-3.
Ingredients:
For the crunchy chicken:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 eggs
- About 1 cup shredded coconut
- Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the sauce:
- Half a large pineapple (approx. 300g when peeled and chopped)
- 100ml water
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (or coconut flour or ground almonds if you’re being really good)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- pinch of dried chilli flakes
- 2 small cloves garlic, peeled and grated
- Chunk of ginger, peeled and grated
- 120g frozen Asian veg
- Sliced spring onion and cauliflower rice* to serve.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven 180°C and slice the chicken breasts into thin strips.
2. Arrange the flour in one bowl, whisk the eggs in another and place the coconut in a third.
3. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Dip each piece of chicken first in the flour, coating evenly, then in the egg and finally into the coconut. Repeat with all the chicken pieces, arrange the coated chicken on the tray and bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes until cooked through and golden in colour.
4. Peel and chop the pineapple, omitting the hard core. Set half aside and blend the other half (approx 150g) with 100ml water to produce approximately 300ml juice.
5. Take two tablespoons of this juice, mix with the cornflour (or preferred alternative) in a separate bowl and set aside.
6. Combine the soy sauce, the rice wine vinegar, the honey, the tomato paste, the chilli, the garlic and the ginger with the remaining pineapple juice and heat gently, stirring together
7. When the chicken is nearly ready, add the cornflour mix to the sauce and allow to bubble and thicken. Add the remaining chopped pineapple and the frozen Asian veg. Stir over the heat to warm the veg.
8. Arrange the chicken on three plates and spoon the vegetables and sauce over. Serve with cauliflower rice and sprinkle the sliced spring onion over the top.
*Make cauliflower rice for two by grating or blending half a head of cauliflower and then dry frying in a non-stick pan with a pinch of salt until it is warmed through.
Image via Savoury Sweet Life
