Mandarin Chicken and Fried Rice

This chicken is like the kind you get at Panda Express

MANDARIN CHICKEN

boneless skinless chicken thighs
2/3 c sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp. garlic
1/4 c. water
4 tsp flour

Put sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, oil, garlic and ginger in a saucepan and stir together. Place on stove on low heat. In a separate bowl, mix flour with water. When the sauce warms up, add flour mixture a little at a time to thicken.

Grill the chicken on your BBQer until done. Slice into bitesize pieces and drizzle with sauce until all pieces are covered. Serve immediately with extra sauce on the side in case someone wants more. I figure 2-3 thighs per person. This sauce is enough for 15-20 thighs and it keeps for quite a while in the fridge too. When I cut my chicken up, I use a fork and knife holding the chicken down with the fork and slicing through the tines with the knife to cut into strips.


HAM FRIED RICE

3-4 c. prepared rice (I use regular or instant, my kids like the instant better but I like the real rice better)
diced ham
1-2 eggs
frozen peas
2-3 green onions , diced
soy sauce
butter

Melt 1 T butter in skillet or wok. Brown onions and ham in the butter. Mix the eggs in a bowl and cook in the skillet or wok (scramble) along with the peas. Take onions, peas, ham and eggs out of pan. Melt 1/4-1/2 c. butter in the pan. Add rice and cook over high heat so that it fries the rice. After it is fried, add the rest of the ingredients back in and stir together. Warm through and add 1-2 T soy sauce. Serve with soy sauce in case anyone likes to add more.