Sweet And Sour Chicken With Ham Fried Rice

This is a modified version of my mom’s recipe for sweet and sour chicken.  I’ve played with it a bit over the years and this version seems to work well.

Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• dash of salt

Preparation:
Bone and chop the chicken breasts.  Dip them in beaten egg, then coat them with cornstarch.  Deep fry in oil until golden brown.  Place golden chicken pieces directly into casserole dish.  Mix remaining ingredients until dissolved and pour sauce over chicken.  Bake at 325 for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

You obviously can’t have the sweet and sour chicken without rice so here is the a basic recipe for fried rice that we like to use.  Feel free to modify it as you see fit.  If you plan on adding other ingredients, such as ham, increase the number of eggs to 3.

Ingredients:

• 1 – 2 green onions, as desired
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
• 4 cups cold cooked rice
• 1 – 2 tablespoons light soy sauce

Preparation:
Wash and finely chop the green onion. Lightly beat the eggs with the salt and pepper.  Heat a wok or frying pan and add 2 tablespoons oil.  When the oil is hot, add the eggs.  Cook, stirring, until they are lightly scrambled but not too dry. Remove the eggs and clean out the pan.  Add 2 tablespoons oil.  Add the rice.  Stir-fry for a few minutes, using chopsticks or a wooden spoon to break it apart.  Stir in the soy sauce.  When the rice is heated through, add the scrambled egg back into the pan.  Mix thoroughly.  Stir in the green onion.  Serve hot.