Asian Aromatic Sweet & Pungent Chicken 

This Asian Aromatic Chicken has a tangy, sweet, and pungent sauce that combines garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and crispy coated succulent chicken, that will leave you craving more. 

I have had this recipe in my recipe box for nearly 30 years and have made it numerous times over the years. I originally acquired it through the owner of a little Asian restaurant back when I was living in Southern California. 

I have made a few changes to it over the years to make it simpler to prepare, but it is still one of the very best dishes I have ever tried! It is also great made with 2 pounds of shrimp in place of the chicken. 

Prepare the sweet and pungent sauce:

In a bowl, combine the ketchup, cooking sherry, red pepper flakes, grated ginger, sugar, and salt.  Mix well and set aside. If you want to heat up the sauce a bit, you can add more red pepper flakes. I like to use freshly grated ginger in my recipes because nothing compares to the taste of fresh ginger. 

Tip: I used to avoid buying fresh ginger because I could never use it up before it would spoil. But then I discovered that you can buy fresh ginger root and store it in your freezer. When you need it, simply grate as much as you need and put it back into the freezer! There is no need to peel it and it grates well when frozen. This will allow you have fresh ginger root on hand for months. Fresh ginger root is not only more delicious, but also more nutritious.

1/2 cup ketchup 

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cooking sherry 

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger  

1 1/2 teaspoon salt,

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Prepare the Chicken:

Cut the chicken into one inch strips or larger bite sized pieces and place it into a resealable plastic bag. Pour cornstarch over the chicken, close the bag, and shake until the chicken is well-coated. 

1 cup cornstarch

Add about half of the canola or vegetable oil to a wok and heat until oil is shimmering. Shake any excess cornstarch from the chicken as you add it to the wok to cook. Add about half the chicken. As it cooks, turn it carefully until cooked through and lightly browned on all sides. Remove the chicken and drain on paper towels. To prevent the coating from falling off of the chicken do not stir. Repeat the process by adding the remaining canola or vegetable oil and the rest of the chicken to the wok. 

Cook Remaining Ingredients:

Once the remaining chicken is cooked and removed from the pan to drain, chop the green onion and add it to the wok along with the sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and sesame seed and cook for 1 minute. 

2 green onions, Chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon sesame seed

Once the onions are wilted, add the sauce to the wok and cook until heated. Add the chicken, and carefully stir it into the sauce. Once it is heated through, it is ready to be devoured!

I usually serve this Asian Aromatic Chicken over steamed rice and stir-fried vegetables or broccoli. Each tender bite offers a blend of aromatic spices and delightful tanginess.

Serves 6