Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

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Close up showing the vibrant colours of sweet and sour chicken with vegetables in the pan

5 from 1 vote

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 either fresh chicken or leftovers!

Servings: people

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Ingredients

250 g 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

Metric - USA Cups

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 pieces
250 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.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.