Japanese Chicken

12 chicken tenders,

Egg, beaten

Cornstarch

Sauce:

2 T. soy sauce

1 cup vinegar      

1 ½ cup sugar

½ cup catsup

Dash salt

½ cup water

Roll chicken in cornstarch and then in beaten egg.  Fry in hot oil in a skillet.  Place in a 9x13-inch baking dish.  Mix sauce ingredients and pour over chicken.  Bake at 350º for 1 hour, turning chicken once.  Serve with ham fried rice and a good vegetable.

By accident I found out that I could make a pan full of these ahead, bake them and then cover them tightly with foil and freeze them.  When I wanted to serve them, I took them out of the freezer, put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes with the foil on.  They turned out perfect. 

Ham Fried Rice

3 T. oil

Salt and Pepper

2 eggs, whipped

1 cup cooked ham, diced

4 cups cold cooked rice – (1 cup raw, cooked in 2 cups water)

2 – 4 T. soy sauce

½ t. sugar

2 T. sliced green onion

Preheat large saucepan.  Put in oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add eggs and spread out.  Cook, without stirring, turning once.  Remove from pan.  Add ham and sauté for a few minutes.  Add rice.  Mix soy sauce and sugar.  Pour over rice and stir well.  Dice egg and add to rice.  Cook until hot.  Place in serving bowl and sprinkle with green onion. Serves about 6.

Thanks to Stacie's great idea of baking rice in the oven, this recipe is even easier.  Put the rice and water in a baking dish, cover with foil and bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes.  Comes out perfect and is easy to do the night before so that it is cold when you use it.  I have done it when the rice is warm and it is fine, just not quite as good.