Make the most of a weekend roast by making this sweet and sour chicken recipe, a quick and easy supper which can also be made with leftovers from your weekend roast.
Sweet and sour chicken
Homemade sweet and sour chicken is one of my favourite Chinese fakeaways. It is easy, fast and perfect for a mid week meal, with dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. Even better you can use fresh chicken or leftovers!
See also
- If you have more chicken to use up, try my fragrant leftover chicken curry.
- Looking for something different? Try this easy leftover roast chicken tagine.
- Leftover chicken tacos are as quick as they are delicious.
With a tangy, fruity sauce, fresh, crunchy peppers, and crispy chicken pieces, this sweet and sour chicken recipe is a treat. There’s nothing worthy about using up leftover food here.
My sweet and sour leftover chicken can be made in one pan and is ready to serve in only 20 minutes, so for a fuss-free dinner and more free time, it’s an absolute winner.
Why make sweet and sour chicken
- A delicious dinner in 20 minutes
- Authentic British Chinese takeaway flavour
- Use leftovers or fresh chicken
- Easy and fast
- Fresher and better than takeout
Leftover sweet and sour chicken ingredients
- Chicken – Breast or boneless thigh (I prefer thigh for flavour and texture). Or you can use leftover roast chicken.
- Cornflour – cornstarch, if you’re in the US
- Sweet peppers – choose a mix of red and green (yellow too if you have them)
- Onion & garlic – a large white onion and a few cloves of garlic.
- Ginger – Buy whole ginger and use it fresh or freeze it in a tub. You can take it out, grate from frozen with a Microplane style grater (no need to peel), and return to the freezer for next time. It will last for months.
- Vegetable oil – neutral flavoured oil
- Sugar – dark muscovado, or soft brown sugar if you have them, though white will do if it’s all you have
- Ketchup – Choose a rich tomato sauce that isn’t too vinegary (if it is, use less vinegar).
- Chilli sauce – I used sriracha but other chilli sauces work too
- Soy sauce – dark soy (use a gluten free tamari if necessary)
- Pineapple – canned pineapple in juice, slices or chunks
- Vinegar – a nice white wine, rice wine or apple vinegar, nothing overpowering or too astringent
- Spring onions (scallions) and sesame seeds – optional, for garnish (not shown)
How to make leftover sweet and sour chicken – step by step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions with photos, hints and tips so you can make this perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step One – Fresh chicken – cut into bite sized pieces, fry in a glug of oil for a few minutes until the outside is no longer pink. Remove from the pan and drain on a piece of kitchen paper to remove any extra oil.
Leftover/ cooked chicken – cut into bite-sized pieces.
Then whichever chicken you used – put it in a bowl with a tablespoon of cornflour and season well with pepper and salt. Mix well and set aside.
Step Two – Prepare the fruit and vegetables:
Peppers – remove membranes and seeds, then chop into chunks, not slices
Onion – peel and cut into ½” chunks
Pineapple – drain (reserving the juice) and cut each ring into 8 chunks
Garlic – peel and chop roughly
Step Three – On a medium heat, fry the chicken in a tablespoonful of vegetable oil until crispy. Turn occasionally to avoid burning but try not to dislodge the crispy coating. This will take about five minutes. Add a little more oil if needed.
Helen’s Pro Tip
Use a good, heavy, non-stick pan. If you don’t use a non-stick pan, the crispy coating will stick and be lost.
Put the chicken pieces on some kitchen paper to drain off the excess oil.
Step Four – Now put the onions and peppers in the same pan over a medium high heat, stirring until the onions are fragrant and the peppers slightly softened. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute.
(Remember that garlic needs less time than onion, as it cooks faster and burns more easily.)
Step Five – Turn the heat down. Add the pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, ketchup and chilli sauce. Grate in some fresh ginger, and mix to make a sauce.
Step Six – Put the remaining cornflour in a small bowl. Add a little cold water and stir until you have a smooth liquid.
Step Seven – Add the cornflour mix to the pan and stir quickly. The sauce will look milky at first, but as it thickens you will get that rich, glossy quality of a good sweet and sour sauce.
Bring the mixture up to a gentle simmer, stirring all the time. Take care to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan, as the sauce will thicken there first.
If necessary, you can add a splash of water to make more sauce, or thicken the sauce further with another teaspoon of cornflour ‘slurry’. Never add cornflour directly to a hot sauce, because it will not dissolve and you will never get rid of the lumps.
If you are making the dish in advance stop here. When ready to serve, reheat the sauce and proceed as below.
Step Eight – Finally, add the crispy chicken pieces back into the pan together with the pineapple. Stir well in order to heat them through, and serve at once, while the chicken is still crisp.
Serving suggestion
Garnish with chopped spring onions (scallions) and sesame seeds, and serve with easy Chinese rice.
Variations
- Add a pinch of five spice to the cornflour in which you coat the chicken.
- Vary the vegetables. Green beans, carrots, mangetout, baby corn, mushrooms and beanshoots are all good.
- Add some toasted cashew nuts.
- Use a little less sugar, adding a little honey or maple syrup for extra flavour.
Storage
This sweet and sour chicken is best eaten immediately, because the coating on the chicken will lose its texture if left.
If you have leftovers that you want to keep, however, simply cool and pack them into storage boxes in the usual way.
Fridge – Keep in the fridge for three days and reheat to piping hot.
Freezer – You can freeze and reheat, but I don’t really recommend it. It is safe, but disappointing. If your leftover cooked chicken has been frozen before, do not freeze and reheat it again.
Hints and tips
- Always use a non-stick pan. Otherwise, the chicken coating will stick and be lost.
- Don’t stir the chicken too vigorously in the pan, as it may fail to crisp up. Turn it gently from time to time.
- Don’t be tempted to mix the garlic with the onion and put them in the pan together. Garlic burns much faster than onion and does not benefit from any charring!
- Always mix the cornflour thoroughly with cold water before adding to your pan. If you don’t, you will end up with gelatinous lumps.
- If you want to make the recipe in advance, you can stop short of the last stage. Reheat the sauce when you are ready to serve, and only then add the crispy chicken and the pineapple.
FAQs
The Chinese style sweet and sour sauces we are familiar with originate in the Guangdong area of China, the part of the Chinese mainland closest to Hong Kong. They are most strongly associated with pork but used with different meats.
Of course, they have been adapted for Chinese restaurants in different parts of the world and this sweet and sour chicken recipe reflects that.
If you suspected that this was a dish invented in recent years for foreigners, you would be very much mistaken. The first record of this type of sauce dates from the 9th century!
You can, but because this sweet and sour chicken recipe has a crispy coating on the chicken, you won’t get the same results when it is reheated. The coating will be soft rather than crispy.
More Chinese fakeaway recipes
- Easy Chinese chow mein – the easiest fakeaway noodles
- Chinese chicken curry – a popular takeout supper made easy and healthy at home
- Salt and pepper chicken – a light and spicy stir fry dish for restaurant quality at home
- Salt and pepper prawns – just irresistible
- Crispy chilli tofu – guaranteed to impress
- Salt and pepper chips – a fusion takeaway favourite
Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g (2 cups) chicken – breast or boneless thigh (or leftover roast )
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 2 bell peppers
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 435 g fresh pineapple, slices or chunks (1 can, including the juice)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (neutral flavour)
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 3 tbsp soft dark brown sugar (or muscavado)
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp chilli sauce
- ½ tsp fresh ginger root (grated)
- black pepper and salt (to season)
- sesame seeds (optional garnish)
- sliced spring onions/scallions (optional garnish)
Instructions
- With fresh chicken – cut into bite sized pieces. add a glug of oil to a pan and fry the chicken for several minutes until starting to brown on the outside. Remove from the pan and allow to drain on a piece of kitchen paper. Cooked chicken – cut into bite sized pieces250 g chicken – breast or boneless thigh
- Add the cornflour to a bowl, season and mix. Add the chicken and give everything a good mix so the chicken is coated with the cornflour mixture.2 tbsp cornflour, black pepper and salt
- Prepare the vegetables. Remove the stalk, membrane and seeds from the peppers and chop. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. If using pineapple rings, cut these into 8 chunks and reserve the juice.2 cloves garlic, 1 onion, 2 bell peppers, 435 g fresh pineapple, slices or chunks
- Ona medium heat, fry the chicken in a tablespoonful of vegetable oil until crispy. Turn occasionally to avoid burning but try not to dislodge the coating. This will take about five minutes.1 tbsp vegetable oil
- Put the chicken pieces on some kitchen paper to drain off the excess oil.
- Now put the onions and peppers in the same pan over a medium high heat, stirring until the onions are fragrant and the peppers slightly softened. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute.
- Turnthe heat down. Add the pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, ketchup and chilli sauce. Grate in some fresh ginger, and mix to make a sauce.2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 3 tbsp soft dark brown sugar, 1 tbsp chilli sauce, ½ tsp fresh ginger root, 2 tbsp ketchup
- Put the remaining cornflour in a small bowl. Add a little cold water and stir until you have a smooth liquid.
- Add the cornflour mix to the pan and stir quickly. The sauce will look milky at first,but as it thickens you will get that rich, glossy quality of a good sweet and sour sauce.
- Bring the mixture up to a gentle simmer, stirring all the time. Take care to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan, as the sauce will thicken there first.sesame seeds, sliced spring onions/scallions
- Finally, add the crispy chicken pieces back into the pan together with the pineapple. Stir well in order to heat them through, and serve at once, while the chicken is still crisp.
Notes
Storage
This sweet and sour chicken is best eaten immediately, because the coating on the chicken will lose its texture if left.If you have leftovers that you want to keep, however, simply cool and pack them into storage boxes in the usual way. Fridge – Keep in the fridge for three days and reheat to piping hot. Freezer – You can freeze and reheat, but I don’t really recommend it. It is safe, but disappointing. If your leftover cooked chicken has been frozen before, do not freeze and reheat it again.
Hints and tips
- Always use a non-stick pan. Otherwise, the chicken coating will stick and be lost.
- Don’t stir the chicken too vigorously in the pan, as it may fail to crisp up. Turn it gently from time to time.
- Don’t be tempted to mix the garlic with the onion and put them in the pan together. Garlic burns much faster than onion and does not benefit from any charring!
- Always mix the cornflour thoroughly with cold water before adding to your pan. If you don’t, you will end up with gelatinous lumps.
- If you want to make the recipe in advance, you can stop short of the last stage. Reheat the sauce when you are ready to serve, and only then add the crispy chicken and the pineapple.
Olivia Jenkins
Super easy recipe! I love the step by step photos. So helpful!