Sweet & Sour Chicken Balls

Make the sweet & sour sauce

• In a small pan combine the ketchup, sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce rice vinegar, sugar and orange juice. Bring to a boil over a medium heat and stir well to combine. Keep on a low simmer until the sauce thickens.

Prep the chicken

• Chop the chicken into bite size pieces. In a large bowl combine the cornflour and a pinch of salt (to taste). Add the chicken pieces and coat well in the cornflour.

Make the batter

• In a large bowl whisk together the self raising flour, bicarbonate of soda, 25ml of water per person you are serving (e.g. if you are cooking for 4 people you will need 100ml water), and the milk. If you don’t have self-raising flour, you can make your own by adding 1 tsp of baking powder for every 100g plain flour. This is your batter.

Cook the rice & chicken

• Cook the rice according to the packet instructions.
• You will need enough vegetable oil so that the chicken is covered when you fry it. Heat the oil in a deep pan until it reaches 170°C. If you don't have a thermometer you can test the oil by dropping a breadcrumb into it, if it sizzles right away and turns golden-brown, then it's ready to use.
• Dip the chicken into the batter. Carefully lower the chicken into the pan and fry it for around 5-6 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 75°C. I like to do this in two batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Remove the chicken from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.

Plate up

• Serve the chicken balls with the sweet and sour sauce and rice. Enjoy!