hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re adding on to our series on foods from TV and Film with a sweet and sour chicken, inspired by “How I Met Your Mother.” Its origins (as you may have guessed) very much come from American cuisine, and for this reason, very prominently features the use of both canned pineapple AND the pineapple syrup that it’s canned in, for an almost aggressively sweet quality.

It is commonly paired with a handful of other colorful veggies like red bell pepper and white onion, and of course makes use of the all American classic condiment, Ketchup, in order to achieve that bright red color that you’ll know and love. We’ll be using one of my favorite go-to fried chicken recipes with a double fried, carbonated soda water tempura batter, which yields (in my opinion) the best fried chicken results in a Chinese glazed chicken dish like this one that i’ve ever managed.

Bookmark the recipe here (out July 12th!), bookmark the stream here, and pick up the ingredients below if you want to follow along and cook dinner with me.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp (about 1 inch) ginger

• 3 green onions

• 3 medium chicken thighs (or 1 chicken breast)

• 1 red bell pepper

• 1/2 medium white onion

• 1/2 cup diced pineapple

• 2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in water

• peanut oil

• 24 oz fryer oil (canola, corn, vegetable)

INGREDIENTS (tempura batter)

• 2 egg whites

• 1/4 cup AP flour

• 1/4 cup corn starch

• 1/4 cup soda water (or still water)

INGREDIENTS (marinade)

• 4 tbsp light soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

• 2 tbsp shaoxing wine

• 1/2 tsp white pepper

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• pinch kosher salt

INGREDIENTS (sauce)

• 1/2 cup pineapple syrup

• 4 tbsp sweet chili sauce

• 2 tbsp ketchup

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar

• 2 tbsp doubanjiang

• pinch kosher salt