In the late 80’s and early 90’s, my favorite restaurant was Fu Lin on Bowman Curve in Little Rock. They had the absolute best egg drop soup and egg rolls I had ever tasted. The deep fried breaded chicken was golden brown and delicious perfection for the Sweet and Sour Chicken combo, and the sauce was perfect.
Even after I joined the Navy and went to California and other states, I never found another Chinese place that even came close to Fu Lin. If I were to ever break my eating lifestyle and just eat one meal without regard, that is where I would head.
I also overheard the best conversation ever while waiting to pay my bill there. The woman working the register was dealing with a call in order from a customer, and she looked very frustrated. I heard her say “What’s in the Chicken Fried Rice? It’s chicken…and fried rice.” The look on her face was priceless. I think we have all been there from time to time.
I haven’t been to Fu Lin now for many, many years. I hope it hasn’t changed, and the egg drop soup and egg rolls are still the deep fried bliss they were 30 years ago.
Knowledge can bring pain, however, and I was happily ignorant about nutrition back then. Now I know all too well, and the numbers would not be good. There are no official stats for that meal, but I would estimate the calories were clocking in at over 2000, with fat and simple carbs both reaching the high 80 gram range.
The sodium though…that might break the calculator. I would guess it was in the 3000 mg mark, and that might be a conservative estimate. Basically, that one meal exceeds most of my weekly totals now. It was fun for the taste buds, but a wrecking ball for my heart, liver, and pancreas. It would be an interesting experiment to take vitals before and after a meal like that.
All is not lost, however. We can make a delicious sweet and sour chicken entree at home that greatly reduces all those sky high numbers. Will it be the exact same? No. But it will be fun to make, taste great in its own right, and not make alarms go off in Med Alert systems 3 houses down when you eat it.
We need to make our own sauce, as store bought sweet and sour sauce has so much sugar that even hummingbirds consider a bit rich. It’s quick and easy, and just takes a few ingredients. If you get the Chinese take out craving, it’s the fix you need in your life. Just don’t ask stupid questions about what’s in it.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients:
1 package chicken breasts
1 yellow onion
1 green bell pepper
1 bunch green onions
1 can pineapples
1 24 oz package frozen cauliflower rice
6 tbsp low sodium coconut aminos, divided
50 grams fine almond flour
1 tsp garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper
1/2 cup Golden Monk Fruit sweetener
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup natural sugar free ketchup
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp gelatin
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup juice from pineapple can
2 tbsp avocado oil, divided
Instructions:
Combine the golden monk fruit, vinegar, ketchup, water, pineapple juice, 2 tbsp of coconut aminos, and gelatin in a saucepan and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, simmer until it thickens, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and add the toasted sesame oil, stir again and set aside:
Dice the onions, green pepper, and cut the white off the green on your green onions:
Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and combine with the almond flour, spices, and 2 tbsp of coconut aminos:
Heat 1 tbsp of the avocado oil in a large pan and quickly saute the whites from the green onion. In another pan, cook the green bell pepper and onion until soft, then add the drained pineapple chunks:
Add the cauliflower rice and cook until the moisture is gone and the rice just starts to brown. Add 2 tbsp of coconut aminos and stir, remove from heat and cover. Heat an electric skillet or another fry pan to cook the chicken until all sides are browned and the internal temp hits 170 degrees:
Combine the cauliflower rice with the bell pepper, onions, and pineapple:
Add a frozen stir fry mix to one of the skillets with a bit of water and heat through for a side:
Place a serving of chicken on top of the rice mix, and coat with a few spoonfuls of the sweet and sour sauce. The sauce also is great on the veggie side:
See the list of all the Shirtless Chef recipes at www.mysaline.com/shirtless.