This is an easy alternative to sweet-sour – call it tropical chicken!

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes (plus time to marinate)

What you need:

1 tablespoon oil

1 lb (500 g) chicken breast, cut into 1 inch (2 cm) pieces,

2 tablespoon hot curry paste

1 red/orange/green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch (2cm) pieces

1 cup (165 g) pineapple chunks fresh or canned

1 cup (70g) broccoli florets (optional and can be substituted with other veggies)

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 inch (2-3 cm) fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

½ cup (120ml) tomato juice (or mixed tomato and pineapple juice)

4-5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

5-6 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2-3 tablespoons brown sugar (white sugar is also fine)

1 tablespoon flour (or corn starch)

1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional, but very nice)

4 green onions, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

How to do it

Cut chicken into 1 inch (2-3 cm) pieces and marinate in hot curry paste for at least 30 min (if you don’t have curry paste, use curry powder and sesame oil (or another oil)

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add chicken, garlic and ginger.

Cook the chicken for 5-7minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through. 

Add the bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes or until tender.

Add the pineapple and broccoli and stir. Reduce heat to very low.

In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato/pineapple juice, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and brown sugar.

Add the sauce mixture to the pan and bring to a simmer. If it is not enough sauce, add more juice and soy sauce.

Mix the flour/corn starch with 1 tablespoon of cold water; stir until smooth.

Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute or until sauce has just thickened.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.

Serve with white or brown rice.