Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple and Red Onion

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple and Red Onionadapted from Cook’s Illustrated Complete Book of Poultry

¾ pound boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cut into uniform pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits or 2 cups fresh pineapple cut into wedges (I used canned pineapple)
3 medium scallions, green parts cut into ¼-inch lengths and white parts minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I omitted this since I didn’t have on hand and it still tasted great)
1 recipe sweet and sour stir-fry sauce (see below)

Toss the chicken with the soy sauce and vinegar in a medium bowl; set aside for 15 minutes, tossing once or twice.

Heat a 12- or 14-inch skillet over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes (the pan should be so hot you can hold an outstretched hand 1 inch over the pan for only 3 seconds.) Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl it so the oil evenly coats the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil until it just starts to shimmer and smoke. Check the heat with your hand as before.

Drain the chicken and add it to the pan. Stir-fry until seared and about three-quarters cooked, 2 ½ to 3 minutes. Scrape the cooked chicken and all of the liquid into a bowl. Cover and keep warm.

Let the pan come back up to temperature, 1 to 2 minutes. When it is hot, drizzle in 2 teaspoons oil. When the oil just starts to smoke, add the onions and stir-fry until just tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pineapple and cook 1 minute. Add the scallion greens and cook 15 to 30 seconds.

Clear the center of the pan and add the white parts of the scallions, garlic, and ginger. Drizzle with ½ teaspoon oil. Mash into the pan with the back of a spatula. Cook until fragrant but not colored, about 10 seconds. Remove the pan from heat and stir the scallions, garlic, and ginger into the vegetables for 20 seconds.

Return the pan to the heat and add the cooked chicken. Stir in the sauce and stir-fry until the ingredients are well coated with sauce and sizzling hot, about 1 minute. Serve immediately with rice.

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry Sauce**Because we like things a little more saucy in our family, I one-and-a-halved this recipe to give a little bit more sauce to the stir-fry.**

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons tomato sauce
1 ½ tablespoon pineapple or orange juice (I reserved the pineapple juice from the can of tidbits before I drained it completely)
¼ teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.