Sweet and Sour Chicken
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Battered and fried chicken pieces are simmered in a delicious sweet and sour sauce with bell peppers, green onions and pineapple. Easy to make, vibrantly colorful, and thoroughly delicious!
For more favorite Chinese takeout recipe you won’t want to miss our Mongolian Beef , General Tso’s Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Mongolian Chicken and Chinese Beef and Broccoli!
Originating in China and popular throughout many parts of the world, sweet and sour chicken is a classic. There are many variations of it and for this recipe we combine the slightly spicy flavor of bell pepper with the sweetness of pineapple, a fabulous combination. That’s the way my mom made it for our family and it was always a favorite.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Key Ingredients
An important key to making a good sweet and sour sauce is to be sure that the “sour” component isn’t completely overpowered by the “sweet.” The proper balance is essential.
Cider and balsamic vinegar aren’t quite strong enough, use the strongest vinegar you have. I like to supplement white vinegar with a few dashes of a German vinegar called Essig Essenz, which is a super concentrated vinegar with a great flavor and you only need a tiny bit of it. Though you won’t find it in grocery stores in the United States, it’s actually fairly popular among Asian Americans and consequently you can find it in some well-stocked Asian grocery stores. You can also purchase Essig Essenz online. It’s fabulous in vinegar-based salad dressings (and a must in German potato salad). But rest assured, even if if you only use white vinegar in this sweet and sour chicken it’s going to taste amazing!
This dish is easy to make and the flavor is downright fabulous. Another thing you’re going to love is the texture of the chicken. The chicken is battered and fried before adding it to the sauce which produces not only an exquisite crust but leaves the interior of the chicken perfectly white and moist. While it’s not a step you have to take, I highly recommend it.
This sweet and sour chicken is sure to rival your favorite Chinese takeout. Fun, flavorful, colorful and a universal favorite, your family and friends will love it!
Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Let’s get started!
Let’s make the sauce first. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
Chop the bell peppers and slice the green onions.
Dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken.
Put the cornstarch and beaten eggs in separate bowls. Coat the chicken pieces in the cornstarch and then in the egg mixture.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When you add a drop of water to the oil and it sputters, the oil is ready. Add the chicken and lightly brown on all sides.
After the chicken is done, transfer the pieces to a paper towel-lined plate.
Add the bell peppers to the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes until they start to soften.
Add the chicken, pineapple and green onions. Stir in the sauce and simmer for 6-8 minutes.
Stir the chicken and veggies to redistribute the sauce and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave.
Enjoy!
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Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4 inch cubes (or use thigh meat which has even more flavor)
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs , beaten
- 1/4 cup high heat cooking oil (I use avocado oil)
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice from the can of pineapple chunks (see below)
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 cup canned pineapple chunks , drained (reserve juice for the sauce)
- 1 red bell pepper , seeded and cut into 3/4 inch chunks
- 1 green bell pepper , seeded and cut into 3/4 inch chunks
- 6 green onions , cut into 3/4 inch slices
Instructions
- Put the cornstarch in a bowl and the beaten eggs in another bowl. Lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken pieces into cornstarch, coating all sides, and then dip them in the beaten eggs.Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the chicken on all sides in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate.Add the bell peppers to the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the green onions, stir to combine, and add the chicken and pineapple.
- In a bowl, combine the sugar, pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic powder. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the sauce into the skillet and stir to coat the chicken and vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times.Serve with steamed rice.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet February 26, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Can you freeze the chicken and sauce minus the rice?
Hi Amanda, you can but the texture of the “breading” around the chicken won’t be the same, it will be soggy as it thaws.
Sounds amazing like many of your recipes thank you
This is a hit! My family loved this sweet and sour chicken. The sweet and sour sauce had just enough without being overpowering. I’ve tried many sweet and sour recipes and by far this is my favorite!
OFF THE CHAIN AWESOME!! Best sweet and sour I’ve ever had, I used lean pork loin but it was so delicious! Doubled the recipe and we have leftovers for tomorrow. I did use white onion instead of green onions, didn’t have green peppers so used yellow and red. Amazing flavor. I will say I feel like this recipe took me much longer than the stated time, and I would consider this intermediate cooking, but it was absolutely delightful!! THANK YOU!
Fantastic, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, thank you!
By how much can I reduce the sugar and Still achieve a decent result? Thanks!
However much you like, Nneka! Remember you can always start with less, taste it, and add more if need be.
Thanks Kimberly!
Hello!! I had fun cruising around your website/blog. Your recipe for Sweet & Sour Chicken caught my eye. I always have chicken thighs in the freezer and actually had all the other ingredients on hand, so it was a natural. The dish turned out very yummy, served over rice. Had friends over for dinner and they … and I … loved every bite. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Nancy, thank you!
This was a quick and easy recipe to make, however it was unbelievably sweet! I would definitely cut the sugar in half. Otherwise, perfect recipe!
I made this on Saturday. Ive done other recipes for sweet and sour before, too long ago to remember enough to compare, but I did love this recipe and it will become my favourite for S&S. I didn’t have white sugar so I used dark brown soft sugar, and I used what we Brits call distilled malt vineger which I think is the same as US white vinegar, but I also added a dash each of white rice vinegar and black rice vinegar, then tasted to balance it. The result was delicious, but a darker colour than i see in your pictures (due to the darker sugar). I also matched it with “Delicious fried rice” by Kylie Kwong from the BBC website which was just as it is described (https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/deliciousfriedrice_72056)
Wonderful, Steve, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the feedback!
This will quickly become a favorite for weeknights!
“When you add a drop of water to the oil and it sputters, the oil is ready.”
I can’t believe you advise this dangerous practice. If the oil was very hot it would spit burning oil at random.
To test temperature put the end of a bamboo chopstick into the oil. If it bubbles the oil is ready.
That’s a very common practice, Peter, and one that’s recommended by many professional and celebrity chefs. The key here is a drop of water. Certainly you wouldn’t want to add any more than that. But by all means use the chopstick method. Alternatively you can also throw in a grain of rice or a cube of bread.
It is not dangerous.
This is one of our favorite dishes! So easy and packed with flavor!
This looks so easy and delicious! Perfect weeknight dinner!
Wow now is my favorite dinner! I adore the chicken! Wow and wow, this is so delicious and it makes my mouth watering.