SERVES 2 TO 3 AS A MAIN COURSE, 4 TO 6 AS PART OF A MULTICOURSE MEAL
I am not a great fan of sweet and sour dishes or pineapple, but I like this spicy variation, the invention of one of our early sous-chefs. The “sour” is made interesting by a mixture of fresh lemon and orange juices and plum wine, and the “sweet” is offset by the addition of fresh ginger and chilis. I recommend it to the Trader Vics of the 90s!
Frying the chicken adds a wonderful lushness. However, if you are oil-shy, you can instead poach the chicken in water as described in any of the preceding several recipes.
In a classic Chinese dish such as this one, where you are preceding the stir-frying by frying, it’s a big relief to have a separate pan for each step. That way you can avoid handling the hot oil and instead deal with it easily once it is cool. On a Western stovetop, I always choose to do my frying in a wok (its shape conserves oil) and my stir-frying in a large skillet.
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 pound skinless, boneless fresh chicken breasts (2 pounds with skin and bone), cut into 1-inch cubes
AROMATICS:
1½ tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
1½ tablespoons finely minced garlic
1 to 2 small red Fresno chilis, cut crosswise into paper-thin rings
2 tablespoons thinly cut green and white scallion rings
SAUCE:
2 cups China Moon Double Stock (page 72) or unsalted chicken stock
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons plum wine
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 cups corn or peanut oil
½ cup water chestnut starch
1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch squares
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
4 fat scallions, cut into 1-inch nuggets
1¼ cups pineapple chunks
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1½ tablespoons cold chicken stock or water
Diagonally sliced green and white scallion rings, for garnish
One of the only canned foods we’ve ever had in our kitchen is pineapple packed in its own juice. Both the fruit chunks and their juice are delicious!
1. In a bowl, briskly whisk together the marinade ingredients through the cornstarch until smooth and thick. Add the chicken and toss well. Seal airtight and marinate for 3 to 24 hours, refrigerated. Let come to room temperature and re-toss before cooking.
2. Combine the aromatics in a small bowl; cover until ready to use.
3. Combine the sauce ingredients through the soy sauce in a bowl. Stir to blend, leaving the spoon in the bowl. All of the above, including the vegetable cutting, may be done a day in advance. Seal and refrigerate the ingredients; bring to room temperature before cooking.
4. About 30 minutes before serving, add oil to a depth of 2 inches in a wok or deep heavy skillet; rest a deep-fry thermometer on the rim. Heat the oil to the medium-haze stage, 375°F, until hot enough to foam a pinch of water chestnut starch. Adjust the heat so the temperature does not climb. Station a large bowl with the water chestnut starch, a large Chinese mesh spoon or a fry basket, and a tray lined with a triple thickness of paper towels alongside your stove-top.
5. Drain the chicken of excess marinade. Toss a third of the chicken cubes with the water chestnut starch to coat them well. Put them in the mesh spoon or basket and shake off any excess. Carefully slide the chicken cubes into the hot oil, swish gently to separate, and fry until the cubes float high on the oil and the chicken is 90 percent cooked but still pale, about 2 minutes. Quickly scoop the cubes from the oil and drain on the waiting paper towels. Repeat with the remaining chicken, allowing the oil to return to 375°F between each batch. Do not overcook the chicken in the oil. It will continue to cook from its own heat as it drains and will finish cooking in the sauce.
6. Carefully drain all but 2½ tablespoons of the oil into a heatproof container or glaze a second wok or skillet with 2½ tablespoons of the oil. Set over moderately high heat until the oil is hot enough to sizzle a bit of ginger on contact. Add the aromatics and stir gently until fully fragrant, 20 to 30 seconds, adjusting the heat so they foam without browning. Add the onion and toss briskly until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the red and yellow bell peppers and toss until the peppers are curled at the edges, about 2 minutes more. Adjust the heat to maintain a merry sizzle and drizzle a bit more oil down the side of the pan, if needed to prevent sticking. Add the scallions and toss for 1 minute.
7. Stir the sauce and add it to the pan. Turn the heat to high, cover the pan, and bring the sauce to a simmer. Add the pineapple chunks. Stir the cornstarch mixture to recombine it and add it to the pan. Stir until the sauce turns glossy, 10 to 20 seconds. Add the chicken and toss gently to cook through, about 30 seconds.
In the sparsely populated and very beautiful central mountains of Taiwan, on the same bus where I’d gotten nipped by the chicken six months earlier, I met a Chinese character named Fred. Fred was the head of a mountain climbing club. The club took me and a few of my American student friends along on a climbing trip, and we promptly got lost. It was a cold night-and-a-half in a rain forest before we were rescued by a keenly amused group of aborigines. My ankle (the one that had been pecked) had been twisted in the process of climbing, so I was ceremonially carried on the back of one of our Rambo-type rescuers and plopped down as a trophy on the doorstep of the tribal chief. In celebration of our rescue, the chief’s wife killed a fresh chicken in our honor. The whole tribe clustered in the doorway to watch me, while I watched her—her face was beautifully tattooed—slitting the throat of a squealing chicken and stripping it of its feathers. The fact that I fainted was taken as a sign of our ordeal.
8. Serve on a heated platter or individual plates of contrasting color. Garnish with a sprinkling of the scallion rings.
OIL NOTE: Once the frying-oil has cooled, strain it through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a triple thickness of cheesecloth. Bottle, refrigerate, and re-use for stir-frying and frying.
MENU SUGGESTIONS: Tradition and the palate both call out for simple steamed rice to accompany this dish. A salad of baby greens dressed lightly with Fresh Ginger Vinaigrette (page 24) could precede or follow it as a refreshment. Be sure to include some peppery lettuces like mizuna, baby mustard, or watercress to balance the sweetness of the sauce.