Mandarin Chicken

I was browsing recipes, and trying to find something with flavor, yet easy to digest for a certain someone coming home from the hospital. A rice dish sounded like a good idea, then rice noodles, then that person didn't come home. I went ahead with the rice and rice noodle idea with a sweet chicken sauce. I've made this twice, of course forgetting by the second time exactly what I did the first. But it worked both times. Except for the first set of photos.

1 1/2 lbs. chicken thighs or breasts (you can use less, but my family members are meat-eaters)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 TBS olive oil, if using breasts instead of thighs

Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1 TBS cornstarch
1/3 cup gluten free tamari sauce (soy sauce can be used if you don't need gluten free)
1/3-1/2 cup water
1 TBS lemon juice
3-4 minced garlic cloves
1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Mix sugar and cornstarch together. Add remaining ingredients and heat in a pan large enough to accomodate the chicken. Heat and stir until sauce thickens. Leave it on very low while cooking the chicken.

Brush a bit of olive oil on chicken breasts. Sprinkle chicken with salt and garlic powder and grill a few minutes each side until no longer pink inside. If you have a hot grill, and thin chicken pieces this is about 3 minutes a side. These are thighs:

If using thick chicken breasts, I like to slice them to half their thickness. A combination of white and dark meat would be nice.

After cooking, let set a few minutes, then slice into 1/2 inch pieces.

Add to sauce and mix well to coat chicken. I served this over rice noodles and broccoli the first time. (I'll add that recipe later.)

If you like vegetables with your chicken, slice up some of your favorite veggies. This time I used the following, as it was all I had:
2 zucchini, julienned
4 mushrooms, sliced
3 green onions, sliced
1 carrot, julienned

Before making the sauce, I sauteed the vegetables in a tad of olive oil, adding in the garlic & ginger and a little extra. While the vegetables are still firm, add in the sauce ingredients, then the chicken. Serve over rice.