Gluten and Refined Sugar Free Sweet & Sour Chicken

By Omamas @jeannjeannie

Jeanne here.

Something about this time of year makes me crave Chinese food.

Really bad-for-you-MSG-laden-sugar-heavy-food-colored Chinese food.

(Can you say “emotional eater?)

Anyway … I don’t want to succumb to those cravings because I know they have nothing to do with what I really need (which is a nourishing meal that tastes great and doesn’t make me feel gross for days after).

So I’ve been working on a homemade version of sweet and sour chicken hoping to get a Chinese food fix without the bad.

And I’m so happy to share this with you because while it’s no Chinatown Express, it absolutely fits the bill.  Sweet.  Sour.  Chinese-like.  Cravings abated and a happy clan!

I should note, this recipe feeds two adults and two young children.  So double or triple it if you’re feeding more folks

I served it over rice, with a side of steamed broccoli.

This is what was left in the plates of our littles when dinner was done:

I call that a success.

INGREDIENTS:

For the chicken:

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • Sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 3/4 cup rice flour
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil

For the sauce:

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup (we buy organic ketchup that has no HFCS)
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon liquid aminos (or soy sauce … we avoid soy, so we choose Bragg’s Liquid Aminos)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put the rice flour and eggs in two separate bowls.

Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan while you cut the chicken into bite-size bits.  Salt and pepper the chicken.  Flour the chicken.  Then coat with egg and fry in the coconut oil for about 3 minutes on each side, then place in one layer into a lightly greased pan (I use coconut oil).

Mix together the ingredients for the sauce until well-combined.

Pour the sauce over the chicken making sure it’s well-sauced.  Bake for 30 minutes.  (At about 15 minutes, I like to turn the chicken to make sure it gets good and coated.)

Serve over rice, or noodles or quinoa.

Happy Monday!