I really can do more than just sweets, so I thought I'd share something I've been playing with of late for flavor combinations.

One of my favorite dishes to get at any Chinese place is General Tso's chicken, extra spicy at that. I love the sweet and spicy combination of the dish though when making it at home I can kick it up a little bit more. I also included with this one I made "Pineapple Rice" which uses Pineapple juice, water, and pineapple cooked along with Jasmine Rice. The length in this recipe is all in the prep, the actual cooking time is very quick and you can actually prep the majority of it ahead of time (including cooking the chicken) if desired and simply do the final sauce step when ready to eat, thus making it a great dish when you have guests coming over.

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Pineapple Rice (Serves 4)

1 cup of Jasmine Rice
1 tsp sesame oil
1 14oz can of pineapple chunks (Drained but reserve juice)
2 cups of liquid (Use the pineapple juice and mix water to create 2 cups.)

Put liquid in a small saucepan with a tight fitting lid and bring to boil. Once boiling add in pineapple, sesame oil, and Jasmine Rice. Cover, bring back to boil, and reduce heat to low. Let simmer and steam for about 20 minutes. Rice should be rather sticky and moderately creamy.

I like the use of Jasmine Rice because it tends to be slightly stickier than standard Long Grain rice, is becoming widely available now, and just as a rice has a soft floral fragrance when cooked. It's very typical for many Thai restaurants and Chinese as well to make use of it.

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General Allon's Spicy (And sweet) Chicken. (Serves 4)

Part 1
3 Chicken Breasts (About 1.75 lbs)
1/2 cup All-purpose flour
1 Tbsp Five-Spice powder (Five spice powder is used in a lot of oriental recipies, consisting of Star-Anise, Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, and Anise seed.)

Cut the chicken breasts into small, bite size pieces. Mix flour and Five Spice together. Coat chicken with the Flour and Five spice mixture. (If you want a thicker coating, take coated chicken and put into a couple of eggs thinned with a Tbsp of water and then recoat with the flour mixture.)

Saute the chicken in small batches with canola or vegetable oil for several minutes to a side until chicken is just done. (If it's a touch under it'll be fine as it's going to get cooked a couple minutes later with the sauce.)

Put chicken onto paper towels to drain off excess oil. Chicken at this point can be chilled and covered and is ready to be heated and added to sauce.


Part 2. The Sauce

Now, what makes for a LOT of meals out there is, The Sauce... It's what really adds flavor and pushes a dish over the edge.

4 Garlic Cloves, sliced thinly (I actually like little bigger chunks of garlic for this dish, though you can used minced if you prefer.)
1 tbsp Sesame Oil (Sesame oil is a VERY authentic tasting and smelling oriental oil. I really recommend it for a lot of Asian cooking. Do becareful though as it has a low smoke point (Which is, lower temperature that it will start to smoke/burn) so you need to work quickly with it.)
1/4 cup minced sweet onion

2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp. Cayanne pepper, ground.
1 tsp. red pepper flakes.
1 tsp. Five spice powder.

2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

Optional, 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds (Not shown in picture).

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Start first by preheating the pan on Medium High for two to three minutes. Add in Oil and onions, saute one minute, then add in slices of garlic and saute for another two minutes or until the garlic starts to turn translucent and is getting a little browned.

Next add in the Brown Sugar, peppery stuff, and Five spice. Turn heat down to medium. Stir, QUICKLY with garlic and cook for a minute, stirring constantly until sugar is melted.

Add in Cider Vinegar, which should sizzle and bubble very well, mix and stir in for about half a minute. You should have a glaze like substance in the pan. (If need be, add a little more vinegar) Add your cooked chicken and toss in pan to coat, let cook for a minute or two on low to let flavors get coated onto chicken and for chicken to be heated.

Top with sesame seeds if desired and enjoy! Serve with rice and some assorted vegetables.

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Again, let me know of any and all comments or questions you might have, I love to hear them.

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Edit: 3/24/2011 - I tried this recipe again recently and I added about two tablespoons of fresh grated ginger into the sauce when I add the garlic. Very great flavor to this!