Sweet 'n' Sour Chicken

I jumped back into the ever-reliable Hairy Dieters cookbook from BBC's The Hairy Bikers. For my first foray into their 'fakeaways' section- healthy versions of your favourite takeaways- I tried out their sweet and sour chicken recipe.

I was a little fast-and-loose with the quantities- ASDA and Tesco both sell packs of 3 peppers, so my recipe had an extra one. I didn't seem to own a garlic crusher (I have now), so I finely sliced a clove with a paring knife.

To make the sauce, the recipe asks for 3 tablespoons of pineapple juice. This was supposed to make a paste to begin with, but what I created was more a watery mix. When I stirred it into the contents, though, I had way more chicken and peppers than the recipe had asked for so it probably all balanced out in the end. That said, when it asked for white wine vinegar, I erred on the side of caution and dropped in a little less than was asked for. I learned my lesson after Jamie Oliver's prawn and tuna linguine debacle.

Sweet and sour chicken took me an hour and 25 to cook, perhaps longer than most people. But at least I made a point of checking. I usually forget to note my start time.

It's one of the tastiest Hairy Dieters recipes. It's sweet, it's sour, it's savoury. It's a real treat and just as good, if not better, than your local Chinese takeaway. I have no doubt it's a lot healthier. I invited the 'rents around and all three of us wolfed it down. Great food.