菠萝滑鸡片Sweet and Sour Pineapple Chicken with Tomato

This is a wonderfully flavored chicken dish with a sweet and sour sauce and big pieces of succulent pineapple. In China this is made with delicious fresh and ripe pineapple but canned pineapple is a just fine substitute in a pinch. Here is a link to a site that shows you how you can cut out the pineapple so that you are left with a pineapple bowl to serve it in for a really stunningly beautiful and impressive presentation.


If you adore tomatoes like me, leave the skins on and cut into thick wedges, this is the most common way the tomatoes are prepared in China. But if you have people in your house, like in mine, who aren't so found of tomatoes, remove the skins and dice them small so they mostly cook down into a sauce or remove them completely. Tomatoes are totally optional here

1 lb. Chicken Breast or about 2 breasts in 1/4 inch thick slices (you can also use thigh meat)
5 cloves garlic, minced
equal amount ginger, minced
2 scallions chopped
4 roma tomatoes cut in wedges or blanched and diced (optional)
1 lb. pineapple

Chicken marinade
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice wine
1 tsp. minced ginger

Deep Fry Batter
1/2 cup starch of choice
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Sweet and Sour Sauce
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar or Chinese black vinegar(for a richer flavor)
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 cup water
1 tsp. starch mixed with 1 tsp. water

sesame oil

Optional Add-Ins:
cucumber chunks, add at the end when you add the meat back in
bell pepper chunks, add at the same time as the garlic
purple onion wedges, add at the same time as the garlic

Cut the chicken breasts into 1 cm thick slices.

Cut those slices in half. If using fresh pineapple cut the pieces of pineapple the same size and thickness as the chicken. Alternately you can cut the chicken into cubes and cut the pineapple out with a melon baller for a different look as seen on this site here (you need to scroll about half way down to see the finished pineapple chicken).

Mix 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp. minced ginger and 2 Tbsp. rice wine into the pieces of chicken and marinate 20-30 minutes.

In order to remove the skin from the tomatoes, blanch the tomatoes in boiling water until the skins split open. This is optional: you can also leave the skins on. Allow to cool then remove the skins  

Cut the tomatoes into either wedges of diced if you don't like big slices of tomatoes. 

Mix together 3 Tbsp. sugar, 2 Tbsp. ketchup, 1 Tbsp. vinegar, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce.

Mix 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/4 tsp baking powder. Stir into the chicken pieces to evenly coat.
This is for a battered chicken if you would like crispy chicken do not mix the starch into the chicken/marinade. Instead coat each piece of marinated meat in dry starch and proceed to deep fry in the same manner as with battered chicken. Here is a site that shows you the meat being prepared in this manner for pineapple chicken

Heat some oil for frying  over high heat in a wok or other nonstick pan/pot. Place pieces of meat one by one into the oil and fry until they turn white and are firm (it is important that you don`t overcook them, they will be browned on their second frying).

Once all the meat is fried return all the meat to the oil and fry until light golden brown.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a wok and add garlic, ginger, scallions or purple onion wedges and pineapple pieces to the oil and fry until fragrant.

Make a well in the center and add the ketchup mixture that you have already prepared. Fry stirring for a few seconds.

Add in tomato wedges or diced tomatoes and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Add in 1/2 cup water.

Mix 1 tsp. starch with 1 tsp. water and stir into the wok. Cook until sauce has thickened.

Add meat back in and toss until the meat is evenly coated in sauce.

Serve with some freshly cook short grain sticky rice.

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