Sweet n’ Sour Lychee Chicken
My neighbor returned from her weekend swim holding a bag of “Chinese Takeout”, laughing loudly said,”I make up for all the swimming”, waving her hands at me,I smiled, telling her “Wait till you hear my ‘Chinese Takeout’ story, you will have more reasons to laugh .Thoughts flew back to student days, our class had gone on a field trip of some kind & returned late in the evening, everyone wanted Chinese food, because they were hungry & tired, me,I stayed calm my stress was bigger then my hunger, what if they add some egg in the dish( my egg allergy being a permanent fear in life)….soon, a good friend calmed me down saying it was his Uncle’s place & he’d make sure everything was safe. Then the food came, everyone was busy digging in, so did I, the last thing I remembered was being carried out of the Chinese restaurant to the ER, with my friends heads floating beneath….to say it was embarrassing would be an understatement, it was MY “Chinese Takeout” literally. My friend & his Uncle, had good intentions, nevertheless the fact that the same spoon was being used to cook my “special noodles” that was used on the other Chinese dishes was there (after all it was just stirring!! it wasn’t like I would be in heaven’s gate in a second…but I was !!!! ).Long story short that was the beginning & end of my Chinese takeouts,I did attempt to go with friends a few times just for great company, but the fumes were enough to send me back into dizzy spells again, so I figured out a way to make home made Chinese every time, I’m tempted to try a different dish.
This Sweet n’ Sour Lychee recipe is something created on a whim, no preplanning was involved.Last week, I found these cute Lychees at the market, having never seen them before, I was intrigued as to what they might taste like.This afternoon as I was cleaning my refrigerator, these lychees seemed to tease me, I wanted to do something with them, but all I found was beverages & desserts made out of lychees, yet I ached for something spicy…it was then that I came across this sweet n’ sour lychee chicken Chinese recipe.Suddenly the dots connected & the aroma was in the air, the sweetness of lychee mixed with the tangy sauce was a heady combination.Go ahead give it a try, you will enjoy the garlicky gingery sweet sticky dish for sure.
Ingredients:
Lychee- 15- 20 (pitted)
Chicken-4-6 breast or thigh pieces( cut into bite size chunks)
Soy Sauce- 2 tbsp
Sesame Oil- 1tsp
Brown sugar- 1 tsp
Corn flour- 3-4 tbsp
Spring Onions- a bunch( cut fine)
Garlic cloves- 5-6 ( chopped fine)
Ginger- 1″
Chili powder- 1 tbsp
Bell Pepper– 1 ( Green & Red)
Salt- to taste
Oil- 3tbsp

Method:
1.Marinate the cut & clean chicken with soy sauce, sugar & Sesame Oil( 1 tsp) for half an hour.
2. In a wok, heat the oil, to this add the ginger & garlic & sauté it.
3.Then add the spring Onions to the mix & sauté for a few minutes.
4.Now coat the marinated chicken with the corn flour & gently drop it into the wok, stir fry it till all the chicken turns golden brown after adding chili powder & salt to taste.
5.Now add the pitted lychee along with the green and red bell peppers, gently stir it for a few minutes keeping it in simmer.The juices from the lychee, along with the tangy taste of the sauces will exude an aroma that fills your kitchen.
6.Stir the chicken well now, so the corn flour & the chicken does not stick to the base or the sides of the wok.Then keep covered for 5-10 minutes.
7.Remove from heat & serve hot with rice or noodles.Enjoy, your delicious Lychee chicken at the comfort of your home.
Enjoy this exotic sweet fragrant summer fruit in the dish you favor, while the season lasts.
Note: Lychees contain a low molecular weight polyphenol( Oligonol) which supposedly has proven to reduce abdominal fat, apart from being an excellent source of Vitamin C , fiber,Potassium & Copper.
Listed below are some of my published blog posts using Bell Peppersin my recipes, for your interest :
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/bell-peppers-how-to-choose-store-and-prepare/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/bell-pepper-coconut-chutney/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/green-bell-peppercapsicum-chutney/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/gujarati-capsicum-besan-bhaji-spicy-bell-pepper-with-chickpea-flour-sandwich/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/potato-bell-pepper-bajee/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/carrot-paniyaram-with-tomato-onion-chutney/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/spicy-mussel-fry-chinese-style/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/kadai-mushroom/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/sweet-nsour-lychee-chicken/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/kadhai-mushroom-curry/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/thai-spring-rolls/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/spicy-chicken-fry-thai-style/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/baked-kale-chips/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/spicy-hoisini-chicken/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/mushroom-tikka-masala/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/malabar-spinach-n-prawn-gravy-basale-yetti-gravy/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/chicken-shawarma/
- https://stirringmyspicysoul.com/spicy-skewered-prawns/