Sweet & sour chicken stir-fry

Caroline Marson: Food writer

Use frozen strips of chicken breasts, you can add them to this recipe straight from the freezer. Make sure they are well cooked through and piping hot. This recipe is a hit with the children as they love the sweet and sour flavours. Accompany this dish with broccoli and rice. You can also use leftover chicken in this recipe.

Ingredients: serves 4

2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
1 red pepper (cut into strips)
200 g can of pineapple chunks in juice
1½ tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp mustard
125 g beansprouts
150 g mange tout (sliced thickly on the diagonal)
1½ tbsp cornflour
2 ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
400 g chicken breasts (skinless cooked or frozen)

Method:

In a large frying pan, fry the chicken in half the oil in batches until brown then remove from the pan.
Fry the onion and pepper in the remaining oil then return the chicken to the pan with the pineapple juice along with the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, tomato puree and mustard. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and piping hot.
Add the beansprouts, mange tout and pineapple pieces.
Blend the cornflour with a little water, add to the mixture. Stir over the heat until the sauce thickens and the pineapple is warm. Serve with boiled rice.

Recipe tips:

You can make this dish with pork, turkey or chicken. Use a ready made sweet and sour sauce to make this dish even speedier.