“Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la, la la la la. China lychees are here finally, Fa la la la la, la la la la.” Ok I’m not celebrating any festive season, lol but I’m just thrilled that my favourite fruit is in season again. Lychee is such a wonderful tropical fruit that’s naturally sweet & juicy and is very suitable for making sweet & sour dishes, salads and desserts. I had made a Soba Noodle Salad (click for recipe) previously and added lychees in it – just loved that burst of sweetness from them 🙂
Just like any sweet and sour dish, there has to be a balance of sweetness and tanginess without one overpowering the other. For this dish, I had used canned China lychees for its more intense sweetness that would balance up that tanginess of the tomato ketchup. Also, if you prefer pork to chicken, go ahead and substitute the meat.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Ingredients (serves 3-4)
300g deboned chicken leg, skin removed & cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 Japanese cucumber, deseeded & cut into bite-sized pieces
1 yellow onion, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can of lychees (approx. 565g), drained & rinsed (reserve 1/4 cup syrup for the sauce)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
1 tsp light soy sauce
salt and freshly ground black pepper
sunflower oil for frying
Instructions
1. Season chicken pieces with salt & pepper and coat lightly with tapioca flour.
2. Heat oil in pan and shallow fry the chicken till they turn golden brown and crispy. Remove and transfer onto paper towels to remove excess oil.
3. Drain off the oil in the pan and saute garlic and onion till fragrant. Add cucumber and lychees, followed by the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, tomato ketchup, sugar and lychee syrup.
4. Drizzle the wine along the sides of the pan and briefly stir fry all ingredients.
5. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and stir fry till well combined.
The chicken, cucumber and lychees worked perfectly well in this dish, offering different textures and flavours all on one plate. Don’t forget to serve it with some steamed rice too 😉 Enjoy!
Hmm, I am not a big fan of lychees but I can see how it would work in this dish, I suppose the enzymes in it would also make the chicken very tender and as you say it balances the dish.
Once again…I only get 1 out of 4 of your posts in my WP reader….very annoying…
I’m not sure about the enzymes part because I’ve used canned lychees in syrup instead of fresh ones but yes, they are very suitable for sweet and sour dishes because they are so juicy and sweet. Oh dear. Do you have Facebook or Twitter account? If so, you can follow me on either as I do updates there whenever I have new posts 🙂
I’m not on FB but am slowly starting to discover Twitter. I think my posts are now on Twitter as well, so I will see if we can connect there 🙂
Looks yummy! 🙂
How are you feeling? Everything turn out okay?
Thanks Linda 🙂 I’m seeing the Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist next Friday. Blood test result is normal so it isn’t a thyroid problem but it also means the lump on my neck is an unknown growth that requires further investigation. Nothing much I can do at the moment but trying to keep myself calm and steady as much as I can.
I’m keeping you in my thoughts…best of luck! 🙂
I LOVE fresh lychees, can’t stand the canned ones–they taste like perfume; this looks like delicious dish though.
Thanks! Haha, I know what you mean. I had tried certain brands of canned lychees before and they just tasted fake and horrible. If you’re not a fan of canned ones, you can use fresh lychee meat and make your own sugar syrup for the sauce 🙂