So I came home tonight a little after 10. I had an exhausted hour to cook dinner +lunch for tomorrow for my wife and myself, four boneless, skinless chicken breasts and little else in the cupboards. All this coupled with a growing loathing of chicken breasts in all the ways I normally make it.
I decided to explore my fridge and cabinets for ingredients, and made a sort-of General Tso's Chicken from things laying around.
Put up a pot of rice to serve the food over while you cook.
Cut the breasts into cubes and saute them with some olive oil.
Meanwhile in a small sauce pan, heat a small amount of water- 1/3-1/2 cup. If you are like me, your brown sugar is a solid lump. Break off a few pieces and drop them into the water, stir to dissolve.
Add the following to the sauce pan:
ketchup
red pepper flakes
rice wine vinegar (don't be scared- rice wine vinegar is extremely mild)
some lemon juice
juice of that one naval orange sitting in the fruit drawer in the fridge.
Bring back to a boil. Add a cup and a half or so of water and bring to a boil again. Taste it. Even with that water added, it should be fairly thin but flavorful. Don't worry about the thinness, we'll get to that.
Drain the chicken and put back into the pan. Pour the sauce over it. separately mix some flour and water and add it to thicken the sauce, stirring it in. Add a jigger or two of some cheap scotch (I had White Horse) and let simmer for a minute or two. Add a can of peas and some corn. Bring back to simmer, still stirring. It should be thick, tasty, and smell awesome. Serve over rice.
