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Home » Recipes » Sweet and sour chicken

Sweet and sour chicken

October 7, 2021 by Alida Ryder Leave a Comment

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Perfectly golden sweet and sour chicken is a delicious dinner recipe that is so easy to make at home and is guaranteed to be better than your favorite takeout place.

Sweet and sour chicken with rice.

Ingredients

Full recipe with amounts can be found in the recipe card below. 

For a classic sweet and sour chicken recipe, the chicken is usually coated in batter and then fried until crisp and golden. However, once mixed with the sweet and sour sauce, the coating absorbs the sauce and softens. To keep the chicken crispy, I suggest coating it in a cornstarch mixture (like in my orange chicken recipe). I have given you both methods below so you can choose which way you would like to prepare the chicken.

  • Chicken. I used boneless chicken thighs but skinless chicken breasts will also work.
  • Salt.

For batter: This is the classic sweet and sour chicken coating.

  • Flour.
  • Cornstarch.
  • Baking powder. 
  • Baking soda. 
  • Water. 

For crispy cornstarch coating: This is a crispier coating that doesn’t absorb the sauce and get soggy.

  • Eggs. 
  • Flour. 
  • Cornstarch.
  • Baking soda.

Sauce ingredients

  • Red bell pepper. 
  • Green bell pepper. 
  • Red onion.
  • Garlic.
  • Sugar.
  • Ketchup.
  • Rice Vinegar. Apple cider vinegar or white vinegar can be substituted.
  • Soy sauce. Coconut aminos, Tamari sauce or low sodium soy sauce can be substituted.
  • Water.
  • Corn starch.

Sweet and sour chicken

How to make sweet and sour chicken

  1. Make the sauce: In a large skillet, wok or frying pan, fry the bell peppers, red onion and garlic until the peppers are starting to soften and caramelize around the edges. Allowing the peppers to caramelize slightly will add more flavor to the final dish. Pineapple is often used but I’m not a fan of it so I leave it out. If you’d like to add it, add 1 cup of pineapple chunks to the pan with the peppers. Mix the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, water and cornstarch together. Pour the sauce into the wok and allow to simmer for a few minutes until thickened.
  2. Coat the chicken:
    For the battered chicken: Slice the chicken into bite-size pieces and season with salt. Make the batter by whisking the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and water together until smooth. Dip the chicken pieces into the batter and coat completely.
    For the cornstarch-coated chicken: Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Toss all the chicken into the eggs and mix well. Dip the chicken pieces into the flour mixture and coat completely.
  3. Fry the chicken: Heat a large pot of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Once hot, fry the chicken in batches until golden brown, crisp and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set over a wire rack to drain.
  4. Assemble and serve: Toss the chicken into the sauce and stir to coat then immediately serve over rice or noodles.

How to store sweet and sour chicken

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Sweet and sour chicken

Better than takeout recipes

  1. Sweet and sticky Orange chicken
  2. Honey soy crispy beef and noodles
  3. General Tso’s chicken
Sweet and sour chicken

Sweet and sour chicken

4.67 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American, Chinese
Keyword: Chinese sweet and sour chicken, Sweet and sour chicken, Sweet and sour chicken recipe
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 522kcal
Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

  • 500 g (1lb) boneless chicken thighs cubed
  • 1 tsp salt

For batter

  • ½ cup flour
  • 2 tbsp corn starch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¾ cup water

For the cornstarch coating

  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 cup flour
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt

For the sauce

  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper chopped
  • 1 red onion chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 4 tbsp ketchup
  • 3 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tbsp corn starch
  • 1 cup oil

Instructions

Make the sauce

  • In a large skillet, wok or frying pan, fry the bell peppers, red onion and garlic until the peppers are starting to soften and caramelize around the edges. Allowing the peppers to caramelize slightly will add more flavor to the final dish.
  • Mix the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, water and cornstarch together. Pour the sauce into the wok and allow to simmer for a few minutes until thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning by adding more soy sauce, sugar or vinegar if necessary.

Coat the chicken

  • For the battered chicken: Slice the chicken into bite-size pieces and season with salt. Make the batter by whisking the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and water together until smooth. Dip the chicken pieces into the batter and coat completely. 
  • For the cornstarch-coated chicken: Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Toss all the chicken into the eggs and mix well. Dip the chicken pieces into the flour mixture and coat completely. 

Fry the chicken

  • Heat a large pot of vegetable oil over medium high heat.

Assemble and serve

  • Once hot, fry the chicken in batches until golden brown, crisp and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set over a wire rack to drain. 
  • Toss the chicken into the sauce and stir to coat then immediately serve over rice or noodles. 

Nutrition

Calories: 522kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 162mg | Sodium: 2324mg | Potassium: 775mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1199IU | Vitamin C: 66mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 2mg
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Filed Under: Chicken Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Recipes Tagged With: Better than takeout, Chinese recipe, Chinese takeout, dinner, Easy dinner, fried chicken, sweet and sour chicken, sweet and sour sauce

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Hi! I'm Alida, mom of twins and creator of Simply Delicious. I hope to encourage a love for cooking by creating fool-proof recipes that are easy and delicious. Read More…

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