A good knockoff? I have no idea--PF Chang Chang's Spicy Chicken

PF Chang Chang's Spicy Chicken
Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 Copyright 1997,2007

Sauce
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic (3 to 4 cloves)
3 tablespoons chopped green onions (about 3 onions)
1 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons chili sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup vegetable oil
2 chicken breast fillets
1/3 cup cornstarch

1. Make the sauce by heating 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in medium saucepan. Sauté the garlic and onion in the oil for just a few seconds, not allowing the ingredients to burn, then quickly add the pineapple juice, followed by chili sauce, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce.
2. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water and add it to the other ingredients in the saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil and continue to simmer on medium/high heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until thick and syrupy.
(Instead of frying the chicken, I baked it as I did for Baked Lemon Chicken.)
3. Heat 1 cup vegetable oil in a wok or a medium saucepan over medium heat.
4. While oil heats up, chop chicken breast fillets into bite-size pieces. In a medium bowl, toss chicken pieces with cornstarch until well-dusted.
5. Sauté coated chicken in the hot oil, stirring occasionally, until light brown. Remove chicken to a rack or paper towels to drain for a moment. Pour chicken into a medium bowl, add sauce and toss well to coat chicken. Serve immediately with rice on the side.

Serves 2.
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I'll be honest, I've never eaten at a PF Chang's. We don't go out for Chinese food due to my son's peanut allergy, nor is there even a PF Chang's in our area. This recipe sounded so good though. This was a library book and my first Top Secret Recipe. Unfortunately I can't vouch for how good of a clone it is, not having had the real thing.

I chickened out when it came to frying the chicken. I decided to use the method I used for Baked Lemon Chicken. The recipe certainly wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I was expecting. The sauce was spicy but not as sweet and salty as I thought it would be. It was sweet and sour sauce with a kick. I think I was expecting it to be more like General's chicken - more flavorful.

Once I got over my expectations and had a few bites, it grew on me. I'm not sure I'll make this again but it was still a fine dinner.

Oh, I doubled the recipe since I used more chicken but I really didn't need to. That amount of sauce could have covered the extra chicken.

I made this on my day off but it doesn't take very long and I probably could have squeezed it in on a work night. I've managed to manuever my schedule so that I'm getting home from work about 45 minutes earlier. What a world of difference that makes!

Question of the Day: Are there any restaurant recipes you'd like to be able to clone at home? I'd like to clone TGIF's Jack Daniel's sauce. Actually, I have a recipe in the Ugly Binder that might not be a clone but it's just as good. I'll have to pull it out soon.