Lighter Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

Sauce
• 1/2 tsp. extra light olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp. peeled, minced ginger (NECESSARY!!)
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp chicken broth, divided
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Chicken
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into 1-inch pieces (I used closer to 1 .75 pounds.)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 large egg whites
• Salt and white or black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. extra light olive oil or vegetable oil
Veggie mixture
• 2 tsp. extra light olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 bell peppers of your choice, diced into 3/4-inch pieces (I used one large red  pepper.)
• 1 small yellow onion, diced into 3/4-inch pieces  (I diced mine a bit smaller.)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple chunks

Directions:

• For the sauce:
• Heat 1/2 tsp. oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of the chicken broth, rice vinegar, honey, brown sugar, tomato paste, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Season lightly with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 2 Tbsp. chicken broth with 1 Tbsp. cornstarch, and pour into sauce mixture. Return to heat and bring mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, and allow to boil until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

(Start cooking rice at this point if serving with white rice.  If serving with brown, start cooking at the very beginning before beginning any of the previous steps.)

• For the chicken:
• In a medium mixing bowl whisk together cornstarch, egg whites, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper until well blended and slightly frothy. Add in chicken and toss to evenly coat. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large non-stick saute pan over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken (work to space evenly apart) and cook, turning pieces occasionally, until cooked through and outsides are golden brown, about 7 minutes (reduce heat slightly to medium heat as needed). Transfer chicken to a plate and repeat process with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and chicken.
• For the veggie mixture:
• While the chicken is cooking, in a large skillet heat 2 tsp. oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and onions and saute until tender, about 6 - 8 minutes, adding in pineapple during last minute.  (For more tender veggies, cook a few minutes longer.)
• Add cooked chicken and reserved sauce to skillet with cooked veggies.  Toss to evenly coat. Serve warm over white or brown rice. 
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