Multiplying a recipe. Help please.

[CharlieD]

I have this recipe for
Sweet and Sour Chicken (La Choy recipe)

Hands On: 20 minutes | Total: 20 minutes | Makes: 6 servings (1 cup each)



Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Pure Wesson? Vegetable Oil, divided
1 small onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 2x1/2-inch slices
1 can (8 oz each) La Choy? Bamboo Shoots, drained
1 can (20 oz each) pineapple chunks in juice, drained
1 jar (10 oz each) La Choy? Sweet and Sour Sauce
1 tablespoon La Choy? Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
La Choy? Chow Mein Noodles, optional


Directions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in large skillet or wok over high heat. Cook and stir onion and red bell pepper about 2 minutes, or until crisp tender. Remove from skillet; set aside.
2. Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon oil into skillet. Cook and stir chicken about 4 minutes or until no longer pink. Add onion and bell pepper back to skillet. Stir in bamboo shoots and pineapple chunks.
3. Combine sweet & sour sauce and soy sauce in small bowl; add to skillet. Stir together cornstarch and water until smooth; add to skillet. Cook until heated through and sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 1 minute. Serve with chow-mein noodles, if desired


© ConAgra Foods, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (La Choy)


I need to prepare for 40 people. How many times of the recipe should I make? I will also serve fried rice. Would times 5 be enough?
Somebody is going shopping early this morning, need to give them quantities.

Please help.

[dcSaute]

5x may be a bit light.

I base scale ups on the protein amount.
recipe says 1 lb chicken for six servings
16 ounces / 6 = 2.66 ounces per person
which, given the vegetable filling + rice sounds about right.
so
2.66 * 40 = 106.66 ounces = 6.66 lbs
hence my recommendation would be 7x

[jennyema]

The recipe serves 6

6*6=36
6*7=42

So I’d multiply it by 7

And make it in batches

[CharlieD]

Originally Posted by jennyema

The recipe serves 6

6*6=36
6*7=42

So I’d multiply it by 7

And make it in batches

I'm not worry about how to make it. But from what I understand, when you multiply the recipe you do not multiply simply by how many portions you make, there is rational, how professionals do it. And that the part I do not know.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by CharlieD

I'm not worry about how to make it. But from what I understand, when you multiply the recipe you do not multiply simply by how many portions you make, there is rational, how professionals do it. And that the part I do not know.

Charlie, you may be thinking of the baker's ratio which is important for breads and other baked goods. Using the baker's ratio, every other ingredient is measured as a percent of the weight of the flour.

With a recipe like this, all you need to do is multiply as mentioned above.

[karadekoolaid]

Looks like a very small amount of chicken to me.
I´d be looking at 125 - 150 gms (4 1/2 to 5 1/2 ounces) of chicken per person; and given that appetites in the US are larger than elsewhere, perhaps even more.
To be honest, I wouldn´t put 7 times the amount of pineapple, nor sweet & sour sauce. Far too sweet and sickly. probably 3-4 units would be enough.
Yes to 6-7 onions, yes to 6-7 bell peppers, and yes to 6-7 tins of bamboo shoots.
I´d also go easy on the cornstarch slurry, otherwise you may end up with a gloopy mess.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by karadekoolaid

Looks like a very small amount of chicken to me.
I´d be looking at 125 - 150 gms (4 1/2 to 5 1/2 ounces) of chicken per person; and given that appetites in the US are larger than elsewhere, perhaps even more.
To be honest, I wouldn´t put 7 times the amount of pineapple, nor sweet & sour sauce. Far too sweet and sickly. probably 3-4 units would be enough.
Yes to 6-7 onions, yes to 6-7 bell peppers, and yes to 6-7 tins of bamboo shoots.
I´d also go easy on the cornstarch slurry, otherwise you may end up with a gloopy mess.

Interesting. You wouldn't do a strict 7 time multiplication. Would you make 7 batches of this recipe and combine them?

[medtran49]

I'd make 2 double batches and 1 triple batch (after I made the doubles because you might not have enough room in pan to successfully make a triple, might have to break it down to a double and a single).

You'd have to have a mighty big pan and heated area of the stove to handle all 7 at once, and even if you divided straight down the middle and did 3.5 batches at once.

[Silversage]

Charlie, in part it often depends on how old the recipe is. For example, if it's a recipe from the 1960s, a serving size is probably half of what a serving is today.

[CharlieD]

we have had similar conversations in the past, and there were references to large batch cooking, i just can't find the conversation and/or the link.
But for sure when you make a large amounts of foods, you can scale it down. I am not going to be serving portions, it will be on the buffet and there will be other thing to serve, appetizer, soup, salad, etc.

[taxlady]

I haven't really done large batch cooking. But, I would be really careful of just multiplying any salty ingredients by the number of "batches" that you want to make. I have found that doubling a sausage recipe by simple multiplication can make a sausage that is too salty. I can imagine that might apply to sweet ingredients too, as Karadekoolaid suggested. I know that I don't need to double the sugar for a double batch of my Danish rødkål, a sweet and sour red cabbage dish.

[jennyema]

Make it in several batches. Then you can taste and adjust before you combine them.

[karadekoolaid]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

Interesting. You wouldn't do a strict 7 time multiplication. Would you make 7 batches of this recipe and combine them?

To be honest, I probably wouldn´t even make one batch, Andy
I´d make my own sweet/sour sauce and use a fresh pineapple.
Still, since the poster wanted some suggestions, I gave him my thoughts!

[jennyema]

Originally Posted by karadekoolaid

To be honest, I probably wouldn´t even make one batch, Andy
I´d make my own sweet/sour sauce and use a fresh pineapple.
Still, since the poster wanted some suggestions, I gave him my thoughts!

The “recipe” for “sweet and sour chicken” is from La Choy. That all one needs to know.

[karadekoolaid]

The “recipe” for “sweet and sour chicken” is from La Choy. That all one needs to know.

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by karadekoolaid

To be honest, I probably wouldn´t even make one batch, Andy
I´d make my own sweet/sour sauce and use a fresh pineapple.
Still, since the poster wanted some suggestions, I gave him my thoughts!

Originally Posted by jennyema

The “recipe” for “sweet and sour chicken” is from La Choy. That all one needs to know.

Originally Posted by karadekoolaid

The “recipe” for “sweet and sour chicken” is from La Choy. That all one needs to know.

Charlie isn't asking for your opinion of the dish he wants to make. If you must be snarky, maybe keep it to private messages.

[karadekoolaid]

Originally Posted by GotGarlic

Charlie isn't asking for your opinion of the dish he wants to make. If you must be snarky, maybe keep it to private messages.

Not being "snarky" (whatever that means) - simply trying to offer an improvement. Or is everyone expected to stick to the script here, GG?
A recipe from a commercial product label is frequently not very good. If Charlie feels the suggestions were uncalled for, he can just ignore them, can´t he?

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by karadekoolaid

Not being "snarky" (whatever that means) - simply trying to offer an improvement. Or is everyone expected to stick to the script here, GG?

A recipe from a commercial product label is frequently not very good. If Charlie feels the suggestions were uncalled for, he can just ignore them, can´t he?

There is no script. There are, however, community rules about how to treat forum members. You did not make a suggestion for improvement in the post I was referring to - you expressed disdain for what Charlie is making. Whether you think you would like it or not, there's no good reason to make fun of it like that.

Originally Posted by karadekoolaid

To be honest, I probably wouldn´t even make one batch, Andy

I´d make my own sweet/sour sauce and use a fresh pineapple.

Still, since the poster wanted some suggestions, I gave him my thoughts!

[taxlady]

Originally Posted by GotGarlic

There is no script. There are, however, community rules about how to treat forum members. You did not make a suggestion for improvement in the post I was referring to - you expressed disdain for what Charlie is making. Whether you think you would like it or not, there's no good reason to make fun of it like that.

This

[CharlieD]

Originally Posted by karadekoolaid

Not being "snarky" (whatever that means) - simply trying to offer an improvement. Or is everyone expected to stick to the script here, GG?
A recipe from a commercial product label is frequently not very good. If Charlie feels the suggestions were uncalled for, he can just ignore them, can´t he?

Definitely ignore.
I am an extremely picky eater and if this recipe would not have been good, I would not have bother, would not have touched it.
This is a great recipe, the only thing I do, I substitute bamboo shoots for mushrooms. Have made this recipe numerous times.
All I was asking for was Quantity. But as it always is, threads go side ways. No problem.
But for the future, I'd recommend you try it first before criticizing somebody's recipe, even if it is from "commercial product label".