3/4 lb Chicken breast
- skinless, boneless
1 tb Rice wine or dry sherry
1 tb Light soy sauce
1/2 ts Salt
1 sm Green bell pepper
1 sm Red bell pepper
1 Carrot
2 Scallions
1 Egg, beaten
2 tb Cornstarch
2 c Oil, preferably peanut
3 oz Canned leches, drained, or:
1 -fresh orange in segments
---------------------------SAUCE---------------------------
2/3 c Chicken stock
1 tb Light soy sauce
1/2 ts Salt
1 1/2 tb Chinese white rice vinegar
- or: cider vinegar
1 tb Sugar
1 tb Tomato paste
1 ts Cornstarch
1 ts Water
CUT THE CHICKEN INTO 1-INCH cubes. Put the cubes into
a bowl together with the rice wine or sherry, 1
tablespoon of light soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon salt,
and marinate for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the green
and red peppers into 1-inch squares. Peel and cut the
carrots and scallions into 1-inch chunks. (The uniform
size of meat and vegetables adds to the visual appeal
of the dish.) Bring a pot of water to a boil and
blanch the carrots in it for 4 minutes, then drain and
set aside. Mix the egg and cornstarch in a bowl until
they are well blended into a batter. Lift the chicken
cubes out of the marinade, put them into a batter and
coat each piece well. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer
or large wok until it is almost smoking. Remove the
chicken pieces from the batter with a slotted spoon
and deep-fry them. Drain the deep-fried chicken cubes
on paper towels.
TO MAKE THE SAUCE: Combine the chicken stock, soy
sauce, salt, vinegar, sugar and tomato paste in a
large saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Add all the
vegetables, but not the leches or oranges, and stir
well. In a small bowl, blend together the cornstarch
and water. Stir this mixture into the sauce, and bring
it back to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Add
the leches or oranges and chicken cubes. Mix well,
then turn the mixture onto a deep platter. Serve at
once.
