I'm thinking cornstarch batter too. I found a few recipes online. Maybe some you can use a a springboard for experimentation: CHINESE HONEY CHICKEN: Ingredients: BATTER: 4 tablespoons cornstarch 1/4 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup water 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 egg white 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut in thin strips 2 cups peanut oil, for deep-frying SAUCE 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil 2 teaspoons chopped ginger 3 tablespoons finely sliced garlic 1 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon Chinese white rice vinegar 1/2 cup water 1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with 1 teaspoon water garnish toasted sesame seeds (optional) METHOD: MIX THE BATTER INGREDIENTS together in a medium-sized bowl; it should be thick and smooth. Allow the batter to sit, covered for at least 30 minutes. Combine the chicken with the batter. Heat a wok or large deep skillet until it is hot and add the oil for frying. When the oil is barely smoking, deep-fry the chicken for 2 minutes or until the batter is just firm. You should do this in several batches. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. TO MAKE SAUCE: Heat a small saucepan; when it is hot, add the oil, ginger and garlic, and stir for 30 seconds. Then add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer for 2 minutes. Keep warm. Reheat the oil in the wok until it is very hot, but not smoking. Deep-fry the chicken again until it is golden and crisp, about 1 minute. Remove and drain, place on a warm platter, drizzle with the sauce (and sprinkle with the optional toasted sesame seeds if desired) and serve immediately. **************************************... CHINESE HONEY CHICKEN 1 lb. (approx 500 g) diced chicken 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup honey 2 tablespoons corn starch 1/4 cold water 1/4 cup pine nuts sesame seeds fried chinese noodles Marinate chicken in soy sauce for a few hours. Saute chicken in wok or fry pan until brown. Mix cornstarch and water together. Add honey and pine nuts to chicken, then cornstarch mix. Stir until honey thickens and coats the chicken. Mix in a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Serve with boiled rice and steamed vegetables. Top chicken with fried Chinese noodles. Crispy Honey Chicken Ingredients: 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into medium size chunks 1 T. minced garlic Vegetable oil for frying red bell pepper and/or scallions, julliene Crispy noodles, rice or egg noodles or steamed rice for serving Batter: 4 oz. all purpose flour 2-1/2 oz. cornstarch 1 egg 6 oz. water 1/8 tsp. baking powder 1/8 tsp. baking soda Chicken Seasoning: 1 T. lite soy sauce 1/8 tsp. white pepper 1/4 tsp. kosher salt 1 T. corn starch Sauce: 1/2 cup sake or rice wine 1/2 cup honey 3 oz. rice vinegar 3 T. lite soy sauce 6 T. sugar cornstarch slurry--1/4 c. corn starch mixed with 1/4 c. water Directions: To make batter: mix ingredients till just combined. Let rest in refrigerator for a couple of hours. Coat chicken well with seasonings and marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Combine sauce ingredients, mix thoroughly and reserve for serving. Pour vegetable oil into fryer or heavy bottomed sauce pot. Heat slowly to 340-350 degrees. Put 1/4 of the marinated chicken in a clean bowl and pour enough better over to coat. Remove a few pieces at a time from the batter, using slotted spoon or large fork. Shake off excess batter. Carefully lower chicken into the hot oil. Suspend the chicken until the batter "sets," 20-30 seconds. Chicken is done when golden to light brown and crisp. Remove to platter with paper towels to drain. Repeat for all the chicken. Remember to check the oil temperature, it must remain hot. To finish the sauce, heat it in sauce pan, bring to a boil. Add cornstarch slurry, a little at a time.The sauce will thicken, let it come to a thickness of "loose honey." Let cook for a minute or two. Heat 2 T. oil in a wok and add some minced garlic, red bell pepper and scallions and stir-fry briefly. Add 1/3 to 1/2 of the chicken (depending on pan size) and stir-fry briefly. Add enough sauce to just coat chicken. Stir-fry again briefly. Serve over noodles or rice. Date: 8/2/2005 Presented By: P.F. Chang's China Bistro

They are totally different types of preparation. Chicken Marbella, as you know, is made from a long list of varied ingredients, it involves marinating, and uses a whole chicken. Chicken Marsala is generally just the breast, butterflied, and then quickly sauteed with the Marsala wine. It's a lovely, simple, flavorful dish- but there is really no comparison to be made between the two. Marsala wine is made from white grapes, it can be sweet OR dry, and is used in a wide variety of ways in cooking in Italy, especially in Central ad Southern areas. Zabaglione, a sweet, cooked custard sauce, is one of the more famous examples. It's also wonderful in soup, especially chicken soup or mushroom soup, whether its creamy or clear. If you're going to buy Marsala to cook with, DO NOT buy the cheap American "Marsala" made by Masson or Taylor- those are foul and will add nothing but cheap saltiness to your food. Cantino Florio is a good producer of REAL Marsala (which comes from Sicily, and ONLY from Sicily). You can buy it in dry OR sweet versions, and a 750 ml bottle will generally not cost more than $15, and after you open it, it will last in the fridge for quite a long time. RE: Marbella- I agree with you-It's one of my all time favorite dinner party dishes. You can make it long in advance, and it gets better after it sits longer. However, I've gotten tired of the original recipe in the Silver Palate cookbook- it has too much sugar! I've also decided that its MUCH better when made with thighs ONLY! Breast meat doesn't need to be marinated like that, and if it sits too long in the marinade, it just gets mushy. I experimented and made a version of Marbella using tomato paste and Madeira, instead of sugar. Also, depending on your taste, you might try using GOOD dried apricots instead of prunes sometime. It was SOOOO GOOD!!! That combo of capers, olives and dried fruit is also delicious with pork, whether you use a grilled chop, or a roasted tenderloin. I almost always serve Marbella with saffron rice. I tihnk it's time for a Marbella dinner party!!! Zachary

OJ, that's when I get up to see DH off to work, and it isn't long after that I'm back in bed! LOL! Laurel

My local liquor store carries sweet Marsala wine and dry Marsala...and the labels indicate that. I've seen one Chicken Marsala recipe calling for sweet Marsala, but all the others I've seen call for dry. I'm a firm believer in trying new dishes on company. I do it all the time. 99% of the time the dish is fabulous, and the few flops are great subject of conversation and laughter for a long time. If you're thin skinned, this might not be good, but I'm always the first one to laugh at myself, so it doesn't bother me at all. On Sunday I tried a new recipe for 7 guests, using a recipe I had just learned in my cooking class. It was a stuffed, rolled pork shoulder, cooked in dry Marsala, with tomatoes & herbs and it was FABULOUS! I was hailed as a gourmet cook. Because it was so complicated, there is no way I would have made a practice meal of this dish. Have fun with your guests and your new dish, and remember that it's the sharing experience that is the most important. IF the food tastes good too, that's a bonus. Hope you can find the dry Marsala....it's very available here in Utah, so should be easily found in much more wine-friendly states.