My Paleo Sweet and Sour Chicken
Try this My Paleo Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this My Paleo Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- scallions chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- chicken breast 1lb
- 2-3 tbsp coconut oil for pan-frying
- 1 chicken egg whisk
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch or arrowroot starch
- 1 can (14 oz) canned diced pineapple in pineapple juice
- 1 tbsp honey (if whole30 skip honey. add a bit more pineapple and juice. taste and see if more is needed).
- 1 1/2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 pinch of sea salt
- mix well 1/2 tsp tapioca starch or arrowroot starc
- Carbohydrate 3.56156583255513 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 2.08014816664498 g
- Fiber 1.21840165463444 g
- Protein 1.28873099980067 g
- Saturated Fat 0.299179733328719 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (32g)
- Sodium 880.746366662652 mg
- Sugar 2.34316417792069 g
- Trans Fat 0.109621616660068 g
- Calories 35 calories
Step-by-step
- Slice the chicken breast into small bite size chunks
- Mix well ingredients under ‐Chicken marinade‐
- Coat the chicken with marinade evenly and marinate for 15-30 mins in a sealed container in the fridge.
- Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a frying skillet. When the oil is hot, pan fried the chicken in medium heat until both sides are golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. set aside to drain. (it’s recommended that you fry them in separate batches. Don't over crowd the skillet. Add more oil if necessary.)
- In the meantime, in a sauce pan over medium heat , pour in diced canned pineapple chunks and juice and add ingredients under ‐Sauce‐. Give gentle stirs occasionally until it reaches a simmer state. Don’t cover the sauce pan. Keep the lid open for liquid to evaporate.
- Now if you prefer not to add starch, continue simmering the sauce until you can see a shining gloss over the sauce. The consistency should be about as thick as butternut squash soup. If you don’t mind adding a bit starch, turn up the heat until the sauce reaches a boiling state then add-in the mixture of ½ tsp arrowroot starch + 1 tbsp cold water to the sauce. Stir the sauce and you should see it thicken very quickly.
- Turn off the heat and add the chicken back to the sauce pan. Give it a quick toss and serve with sesame seeds and scallions.
Judging Doneness in the Skillet
Fry the chicken breast pieces in medium heat until both sides develop a distinct golden-brown crust and the internal juices run completely clear. Because poultry thickness varies wildly across a single pound of meat, slicing pieces uniformly into bite-sized chunks ensures they reach the proper internal doneness simultaneously rather than drying out while waiting for thicker portions to finish. When poking the thickest piece with the tip of a paring knife reveals opaque white flesh rather than translucent pink, transfer the batch to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate immediately to halt carryover cooking.
Achieving Viscosity in the Sauce
Simmering the pineapple juice and aromatics uncovered allows excess water content to evaporate until the liquid achieves a natural gloss resembling butternut squash soup. Boiling the mixture too aggressively before adding the starch slurry can cause uneven thickening or scorching at the bottom of the pan, whereas maintaining a steady medium heat gives starches optimal time to gelatinize fully without locking in raw flavors. Whisking half a teaspoon of arrowroot starch with a tablespoon of cold water creates a temporary suspension that thickens the simmering pan juices within thirty seconds of contact.
Managing Sweetener Swaps
Replacing honey requires careful adjustment of total liquid volume because liquid sweeteners contribute significantly to the final viscosity and gloss of reductions. Swapping honey for extra pineapple juice demands an additional five to eight minutes of uncovered reduction time on the burner to eliminate excess moisture that would otherwise yield a watery glaze instead of a clinging coating.
