Sweet & Sour Chicken with Rice

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g chicken breast
• 4 tbsp cornflour (3 for the chicken, 1 for the sauce)
• 300 g jasmine rice
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 brown onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 oranges (about 160 ml juice)
• 4 tbsp ketchup
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil

🍴 Utensils

• Wok or large frying pan
• Saucepan with lid
• Mixing bowl
• Bowl
• Citrus juicer
• Spatula

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the jasmine rice in cold water, then put it in the saucepan with 450 ml water. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down to very low, cover and cook for 12 min without lifting the lid. Leave to stand off the heat for 5 min, still covered.
2. Cut the chicken into 2 to 3 cm pieces. Put them in the mixing bowl with 3 tbsp cornflour and toss until each piece has a thin, powdery coating: this is what gives the golden crust and helps the sauce cling.
3. Make the sauce in the bowl: squeeze the oranges, then mix the juice with the ketchup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey and the last spoonful of cornflour. Whisk until the cornflour has completely dissolved.
4. Deseed the peppers and cut them into 2 cm squares. Peel the onion, cut it into large chunks and separate the layers. Peel and chop the garlic. Get everything ready before you turn on the heat, as wok cooking goes very fast.
5. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the wok over a high heat. Sear the chicken in 2 batches, 5 to 6 min per batch, turning it, until golden and cooked through. Too much chicken at once would make it boil instead of brown. Set aside.
6. Pour the rest of the oil into the wok, followed by the onion and peppers. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 min over a high heat, stirring constantly: they should stay crunchy and slightly charred at the edges. Add the garlic and cook for 30 s.
7. Stir the sauce (the cornflour sinks to the bottom), pour it into the wok and let it bubble for 1 to 2 min, stirring, until it thickens and turns glossy. Return the chicken and toss for 1 min to coat it well.
8. Fluff up the rice with a fork and divide it between the bowls. Top with the sweet and sour chicken and vegetables, then serve immediately, while the coating on the chicken is still slightly crisp.