Another idea for a delicious one-pot dinner. Or I should say, one-wok! Sweet and sour stir fry is so up my street, especially ones that don’t have added sugar. One way to ensure that is to make your own sweet and sour sauce, particularly if you’ve got some grapes that you can juice. (Scroll down to bottom for a suggestion on making your own grape juice.) The jars in the next photo are grape juice from our own Regent grapes and home pickled red cabbage. The juice, combined with pickled red cabbage, makes a wonderful base for the sauce and there is no need to prepare that on a separate hob. Save yourself some gas! Oh, and the wok can be replaced by a deep pan.
The pickling for the cabbage was 50% water and 50% red wine vinegar, so I strained it out before using the cabbage, otherwise it might have been too overpowering. The initially reddish colour of the sauce turns brown after cooking for about 15 minutes, particularly with the help of mushrooms fried with onion in the beginning. The rest is really up to you! Here I suggest using chicken thighs and some green beans.
Serves: 2 adults and 2 children
Prep time: 10 minutes chopping + 30 minutes cooking
Ingredients:
- 3-4 chicken thighs, cut in strips
- 100g green beans, cut in half
- 100g mushrooms, thickly sliced (chestnut are best, but white mushrooms work well, too)
- 1 small onion, or half a large one, chopped
- 300g medium ready to wok noodles
- 2 tablespoons frying oil (rapeseed is my usual choice, but opt for the non-GMO one)
- 2 cloves garlic, mashed
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger or ginger powder (here I used ginger powder)
- 200ml grape juice
- 150g pickled red cabbage, strained (and shredded well)
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- (if desired) a bunch of fresh spring onions, chopped
- salt and pepper to season
Steps:
1. Add the oil to a wok or deep pan and place on medium to high heat. Fry the chopped onion for about 2 minutes until translucent, add the sliced mushrooms and stir-fry together for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms turn golden brown.
2. Add in the chicken strips. Sprinkle with salt, ginger, garlic and flour and toss well until all is evenly covered. Stir fry until the chicken is completely sealed and starting to brown (about 5 minutes). Throw in the green beans and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
3. Throw in the pickled cabbage and stir. Pour in the grape juice. Add water or vegetable stock to cover all ingredients by a finger’s depth, and mix everything well. Cover with a lid, turn the heat down a notch and simmer for another 15 minutes or so. You should get a slightly reduced and thickened brown sauce. Add water if the sauce is too thick or seems to have been absorbed. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed.
4. Add in the noodles and stir in well. Cover, and simmer for another 2 minutes. Turn the heat off, add spring onions and stir again. Serve straight away and enjoy!
I hope you’ll try making this, or your own version of a sweet and sour stir-fry. If you do, let me know what you thought of it in the comments. Subscribe to stay informed about new recipes and updates on our urban food growing adventure!
Stay well!
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