Becky says: “This is an ‘air fryer-ified’ version of Mark’s Cantonese- style sweet and sour from my book How to Plan Anything Gluten Free. The pork/chicken isn’t deep-fried so is much healthier yet just as crisp, but don’t be fooled into thinking you can use next to no oil for this recipe. That crisp coating needs it to form a batter; otherwise, you’ll be left with lots of white, floury looking pork or chicken!”

Serves 3–4
Takes 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 300g (101⁄2oz) skinless chicken breast fillet or pork tenderloin fillet, chopped into 2.5cm (1 inch) chunks
• Vegetable oil in a spray bottle, for greasing
• 2 tbsp garlic-infused oil
• 1 large red (bell) pepper, deseeded and chopped into 2cm (3⁄4 inch) squares
• 150g (51⁄2oz) fresh or canned pineapple, in chunks
• 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) or potato starch
• Handful of spring onion (scallion) greens, chopped

For the batter

• 2 medium eggs
• 40g (1⁄3 cup) cornflour (cornstarch) or potato starch
• 100g (3⁄4 cup) gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1⁄2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1⁄2 tsp ground white or black pepper
• 1 tsp salt

For the sweet and sour sauce

• 100g (31⁄2oz) tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce
• 80g (1⁄2 cup minus 2 tbsp) light brown or caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 2 tbsp white rice vinegar
• 230ml (1 cup minus 2 tsp) water
• 2 tbsp gluten-free Worcestershire sauce (optional)

Method

For the batter, beat the eggs with a fork in a medium bowl, then set aside. Spread out the cornflour or potato starch on a large dinner plate. Add the flour, baking powder, pepper and salt to a large bowl and give it a good mix.

Place half the chicken or pork pieces on the cornflour/potato starch plate and gently toss around until well coated. Transfer the coated pieces to the beaten egg bowl and turn them until completely covered. Next, transfer the pieces to the seasoned flour bowl and roll around until completely coated. Repeat with the other half of the chicken or pork.

Heat or preheat the air fryer to 200°C/400°F. Generously grease the base of the air fryer basket or crisping tray by spraying it with vegetable oil.

Place the coated chicken/pork pieces in the air fryer basket, ensuring they are not touching, and generously spray with oil. Remember, any white floury patches will stay that way unless you spray them with oil. Air fry for 8–10 minutes, flipping them halfway through and spraying any white patches once more with oil. Keep warm in the air fryer, with the door half open, until later.

For the sauce, add all the ingredients to a small bowl and give them a good mix until well combined.

Place a large wok over a medium heat on the stove and add the garlic- infused oil. Once heated, add the red pepper and stir fry for 3 minutes.

Add the pineapple chunks and stir fry for 1 more minute. Next, add the tablespoon of cornflour or potato starch and mix immediately so that everything is nicely coated.

Once coated, add the sweet and sour sauce. Give it a good stir until all the lumps of flour are gone. Bring to the boil, then allow the sauce to simmer for 2–3 minutes until it begins to thicken.

Throw in the coated chicken or pork pieces and stir in until well coated in the sauce. Top with the spring onion greens and serve immediately with egg-fried rice.

TIP

The crispy coating on the pork or chicken can begin to soften a little if left to keep warm in the air fryer for too long. If this is the case, simply air fry for 1–2 minutes to reheat and regain that crisp coating before adding to the sauce.

Vegetarian 

Use 250g (9oz) extra-firm tofu, cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) cubes, instead of pork or chicken, and veggie/vegan-friendly Worcestershire sauce, if using.

Vegan 

See veggie advice and skip the steps to coat the tofu in cornflour/potato starch and egg, instead coating it only in the seasoned flour.

Freeze 

Once cooked and cooled, freeze the chicken/pork and sauce separately for up to 3 months. Air fry the chicken/pork from frozen at 180°C/350°F for 5–6 minutes. Check internal temp with a digital food thermometer. Reheat the sauce in the microwave at 360W, stirring every 3 minutes until piping hot.

Becky says: “Meet the super-speedy, super-lazy air-fried version of a takeaway classic that uses a boatload less oil, but still results in crispy chilli beef that anyone would believe was just delivered to the door. Even the sweet, mildly spicy and sticky sauce can be made in around 5 minutes! Oh, and if you like it extra spicy, add an extra 1⁄2 teaspoon of chilli flakes.”

Serves 3
Takes 25 minutes

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil in a spray bottle, for greasing
• 1 red (bell) pepper, deseeded and cut into 1cm (1⁄2 inch) chunks
• 50g (6 tbsp) gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 250g (9oz) beef sirloin steak, sliced into very thin strips

For the sauce

• 100ml (generous 1⁄3 cup) rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp garlic-infused oil
• 150g (3⁄4 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce
• 3 tbsp water
• 2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)

Method

Heat or preheat the air fryer to 200°C/400°F. Lightly grease the base of the air fryer basket or crisping tray by spraying it with oil.

Add the red pepper and air fry for 10–12 minutes until slightly blackened in places.

Place the flour in a large bowl and stir in the salt. Dredge each individual piece of beef in the flour (leaving it in the bowl) and repeat until all the beef is coated.

Remove the cooked pepper from the air fryer to a plate and generously spray the basket once more with oil. Add as many of the beef strips as will comfortably fit into the air fryer without touching, and spray with oil until the flour disappears. Air fry for 10 minutes until crisp and a little golden brown at the edges, turning them over halfway through.

Meanwhile, add the vinegar, garlic-infused oil, sugar, dried chilli flakes and soy sauce to a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Put the water and cornflour in a small dish and mix well. Once the sauce is boiling, add the cornflour mixture, stirring, and continue to boil for

2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to thicken and cool for 10 minutes.

Once the beef is done, add it to the saucepan, along with the red pepper (you might need to briefly rewarm in the air fryer for 2 minutes before adding). Mix and serve immediately with egg-fried rice and prawn toasts.

TIP

Don’t get rice wine vinegar confused with Chinese or Shaoxing rice wine, which not only isn’t vinegar, but also contains gluten!

Vegetarian 

Use oyster mushrooms (separated into very thin strands) instead of beef.

Vegan

See veggie advice.

Freeze 

Once cooked and cooled, ideally freeze the beef strips and sauce separately for up to 3 months. Air fry the beef from frozen at 180°C/350°F for 5–6 minutes. Check internal temp with a digital food thermometer. Reheat the sauce in the microwave at 360W, stirring every 3 minutes until piping hot.

Becky says: “Here’s yet another fakeaway classic that featured in my first book, How to Make Anything Gluten Free, but is tweaked here especially for the air fryer. Crushed cornflakes more closely recreate the panko breadcrumb coating you’d usually find on katsu chicken and, as you might know already, a cornflake crumb comes out especially well in the air fryer without the need for loads of oil.”

Serves 2
Takes 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the katsu sauce:

• 2 tbsp garlic-infused oil
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 1⁄2 tbsp gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour or cornflour (cornstarch)
• 3 tsp mild curry powder
• 600ml (21⁄2 cups) gluten-free chicken stock
• 4 tsp gluten-free soy sauce
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Handful of chives, finely chopped, to serve (optional)

For the chicken

• 2 skinless chicken breast fillets
• 5 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1⁄2 tsp ground black or white pepper
• 1 large egg
• 80g (23⁄4oz) gluten-free cornflakes
• Vegetable oil in a spray bottle, for greasing
• 1⁄4 tsp dried chilli flakes, to serve (optional)

Method

For the katsu sauce, heat the garlic-infused oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the carrots and fry for 2–3 minutes until slightly softened. Add the flour and curry powder. Mix well until all the carrots are coated and continue to cook for 1 minute.

Add the stock, soy sauce and bay leaves, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce is nice and thick, yet still a pourable consistency, stir in the garam masala. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaves. Traditionally, you’d then strain the sauce to remove the carrots, but you can leave them in if you like – they taste great!

While the sauce is simmering and thickening, prepare the chicken. Butterfly each breast fillet carefully, using a sharp knife: lay them flat and slice horizontally so you can open each like a book, being careful not to cut all the way through! If you’re not familiar with this technique (you could search online), you can always place the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of cling film (plastic wrap) and bash until flat with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Either way, we’re aiming to make the chicken as flat as possible so it’ll get more of that crispy coating and cook twice as fast.

Spread the cornflour, salt and pepper out onto a large dinner plate, ensuring it is nicely mixed. Briefly beat the egg in a medium bowl with a fork. Place the cornflakes into a large bowl and use the end of a rolling pin to bash them until consistently fine. Ensure there are no whole cornflakes left or they won’t stick to the chicken very well!

Dredge the prepared chicken on the flour plate until evenly dusted on both sides, then dip into the egg bowl until well coated. Finally, dredge in the cornflake bowl, ensuring even, tight coverage on both sides, gently squeezing and compacting the cornflakes onto the chicken.

Heat or preheat the air fryer to 200°C/400°F. Lightly grease the base of the air fryer basket or crisping tray by spraying it with a little oil.

Place the prepared chicken in the air fryer basket and spray with

oil, making sure they are touching as little as possible (or air fry in separate air fryer drawers if space is lacking). Air fry for 11–12 minutes until the cornflake crumb is crisp and golden brown in places, turning them over halfway through and spraying with oil once more. Allow to cool for 5–10 minutes before slicing, then use a sharp knife to cut each into 1cm (1⁄2 inch) strips.

Serve the crispy chicken on top of sticky jasmine rice alongside the sauce, then sprinkle with chives and dried chilli flakes, if using. If you opted not to strain the sauce, don’t forget to remove the bay leaves before serving.

 

As an alternative, you can use FODMAP-friendly curry powder and stock.

Vegetarian 

Use 250g (9oz) extra-firm tofu, cut into long, wide slices, instead of chicken, and use gluten-free veggie/vegan stock.

Vegan 

See veggie advice and use 50ml (31⁄2 tbsp) dairy-free milk to coat the tofu instead of egg.

Freeze 

Once cooked and cooled, ideally freeze the chicken and sauce separately for up to 3 months. Air fry the chicken from frozen at 180°C/350°F for 7–8 minutes. Check internal temp with a digital food thermometer. Reheat the sauce in the microwave at 360W, stirring every 3 minutes until piping hot.