Q. One of my favorite items to order at Chinese restaurants is sweet and sour chicken. Do you have a lighter, easy-to-make version of this I can make at home?

A. You bet I do! Have you seen jars of sweet and sour sauce in the oriental section of your supermarket? Using these products cuts down on quite a bit of time and trouble and they taste pretty good too.

A small amount of canola oil was used in the batter that the chicken breast pieces are covered with and instead of deep-frying the battered chicken, we are pan-frying them in a nonstick skillet with a controlled amount of canola oil (2 tablespoons). Green peppers and onions and fresh pineapple chunks are combined with the sweet and sour sauce and served preferably over steamed brown rice.

Restaurant-style sweet and sour chicken contains 552 calories, 26 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat and 22 grams protein per 9-ounce serving.

15-MINUTE SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN (WITH 50% LESS FAT)

• 1 green or red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion

• 1 1/8 cup unbleached white flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper

• 1 tablespoon canola oil

• 2 tablespoons beaten egg, higher in omega-3 if available

• 3/4 cup water or light or non-alcoholic beer

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces and placed on paper towel to remove excess moisture

• 2 tablespoons canola oil

• 1 cup sweet and sour sauce

• 1 cup fresh-cut pineapple (you can use canned pineapple chunks in juice but fresh makes a huge difference in flavor)

• 3 cups steamed brown rice (optional)

Place bell pepper pieces and onion in microwave-safe container and cook on high until tender (about 2 minutes). Set aside to cool.

In medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cornstarch, salt, and pepper with whisk. Pour canola oil, beaten egg, and water or beer into the bowl and whisk until blended. A thick batter will form. Add chicken pieces and stir until chicken pieces are coated.

Begin heating 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet or frying pan. Use a slotted spoon to remove chicken pieces, letting excess batter drain over bowl, and place in hot skillet. Coat the tops with canola cooking spray. When bottom is lightly brown (about 3-4 minutes), flip chicken pieces over to brown other side (about 3-4 minutes more). Check your largest pieces of chicken to make sure they are cooked throughout. Reduce heat to simmer.

Drizzle the jar of sweet and sour over the chicken in the skillet and combine with bell pepper, onions, and pineapple chunks. Cover skillet and let mixture warm for a minute or two.

Serve over steamed brown rice if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

• Per serving (with half of the batter): 440 calories, 40 g protein, 39 g carbohydrate, 13.5 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 7 g monounsaturated fat, 3.5 g polyunsaturated fat, 123 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 499 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 28 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = 1 gram, Omega-6 fatty acids = 2.5 grams. Weight Watchers POINTS = 9