Sweet and Sour Chicken with crispy chicken, pineapple and bell peppers just like your favorite takeout place without the food coloring.
Sweet and Sour Chicken, A Classic
Sweet and Sour Chicken is a classic Chinese takeout option most of us are too afraid to make at home. Something about woks and cooking with pineapple make it intimidating for most, but it is so much easier to make than you would think.
Of the classic Chinese Recipes that most people ask for on my blog the one I hear about the absolute most is sweet and sour chicken. I totally get it, it isn’t even just the recipe, but THAT SAUCE. When I was a teenager and I made this sauce for the first time I also actually started learning how to use chopsticks. So for a solid month (I kid you not, my mom was not thrilled with this), I used chopsticks for every meal and had a tiny little bowl of Sweet and Sour Chicken Sauce to dip everything into it.
How to make Sweet and Sour Chicken
When it comes to making a good Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe there are a few tips I love to give out.
- Keep the breading super crispy and light. I have experimented with this recipe both in a tempura batter and a straight cornstarch coating. I prefer cornstarch for ease of use, but either way, you don’t want something doughy that will absorb your sauce like a sponge.
- Make sure you’re using GOOD pineapple chunks. I like either a super sweet fresh pineapple or the frozen chunks you get at Costco. They always have high quality frozen pineapple I’ve never been disappointed with.
- Don’t skip the onions. I know people may have aversions to them, but the onions and the bell peppers play an important role in balancing the flavors of the dish. Without them, you would have a completely sweet entree with only a sour punch from the pineapple. Adding a bit of bitter from the peppers and onions helps cut through the sweetness. Trust me, you’ll be trying to snag extra onion pieces (assuming you don’t already really hate onions).
Want more Chinese Food Recipes?
- Honey Orange Firecracker Shrimp
- Cheesecake Factory Mandarin Cashew Chicken
- PF Chang’s Orange Peel Chicken
- California Pizza Kitchen’s Kung Pao Chicken Spaghetti
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Easy Mongolian Beef
- Panda Express Recipes… every single one in fact: Panda Express Recipes Index
- Many more Chinese food options…
Tools used in this Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe:
- Wok: Great for high heat, quick cooking. This wok is a great addition to your kitchen if you love cooking Chinese food or stir fries in general.
- Large Frying Pan: I use this Cuisinart for most of my non cast iron cooking unless I am going with a stainless steel option, then I choose my All Clad.
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce: I find regular soy sauce much too salty, remember you can always add salt but you can’t subtract it. Starting with low sodium allows you to alter to your tastes if necessary.
- Frying Spider Strainer: This frying spider strainer is the quickest and easiest way to scoop out items that are fried without wasting too much time or getting too much oil out of the pan. You won’t have pieces burning like you would with a smaller strainer, plus it is SO inexpensive. I use it for almost all of my small fried items.
Recipe
Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Yield: 4
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Course: Main Course
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Author: Sabrina Snyder
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts cut into 1” chunks
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/4 cup flour
- canola oil for frying
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 1 red bell pepper cut into 1” chunks
- 1 green bell pepper cut into 1” chunks
- 1/2 yellow onion cut into 1” chunks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 4 teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
- To make the sauce, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic into a small bowl.
- Pour enough canola oil into a dutch oven or frying pan that is comes up from the bottom about an inch to an inch and a half.
Heat the oil on medium high to high heat, you’re looking for the chicken to cook and brown in about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cornstarch to a large ziplock bag.
- Add the chicken pieces to the large ziplock bag and shake until all the pieces are well coated.
- Dip the pieces into the egg, then into the flour before adding to the hot oil.
Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes, until cooked through and crispy.
- Remove to a cookie sheet (no paper towels!) and continue cooking all the chicken pieces.
- When done cooking remove all but a tablespoon of the oil.
Add the bell peppers, onion and pineapple and cook for 1-2 minutes, until crisp-tender.
Add the sauce back in and stir to coat the pieces and cook for 30 seconds to help the garlic warm through.
- Add the chicken pieces back in and stir until the sauce has thickened and bubbling.
- Serve immediately, with optional garnishes of sesame seeds or green onions.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 4 , Amount per serving: 602 calories, Calories: 602g, Carbohydrates: 92g, Protein: 41g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 190mg, Sodium: 588mg, Potassium: 1082mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 65g, Vitamin A: 1385g, Vitamin C: 79.5g, Calcium: 67g, Iron: 2.4g
All images and text © for Dinner, then Dessert.
This recipe was amazing!!!! My mom used to make sweet-and-sour chicken a lot when I was little. I wanted to see if I could make something as good. So I tried this and had her over for dinner. I was scared it wasn’t going to be as good and she wasn’t gonna like it, but by surprise she actually loved it she said it was better then hers. She did teach me something so I wouldn’t make my chicken soggy for lunch the next day instead of adding the chicken to the sauce I just added some cornstarch to the sauce and thicken it up. It was amazing!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
Awe, I loved reading this! Thank you so much for sharing.
I’ve been looking for the perfect sweet and sour chicken recipe and this is the one! Thank you so much 🙂
You’re welcome!
This turned out pretty good but it was more sour than sweet. Wayyyy too much acv.
I’m sorry it wasn’t to your taste, feel free to hold back on the vinegar if you decide to try again! 🙂
I plan to make this but I just have a question – – why no paper towel? Thank you!
You don’t want the paper towel to soak up any of the cornstarch/breading, it what helps thicken sauce. Hope this helps!
Excellent recipe! I made it for my husband and I and we both really enjoyed it a great deal! the ssuce was great and pulled it sll together! My only sughedtion would be to slightly brown the meat. It was terrific! I will definitely make it again!
Wonderful!! So glad you enjoyed it!
Am always on the lookout for a good recipe – and this did not disappoint! It surpassed expectations! It’s absolutely amazing!! Sooo much better than any sweet and sour I’ve ever had! Thanks so much! Wow!
Aw so glad you liked it!
Turned out just as wanted but took me about 1h30m to finish everything. Thanks for the great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed! Sorry it wasn’t as quick but that it turned out great 🙂
I followed the recipe but after reading the reviews i put alittle less apple cider vinegar than the receipe(just removed a small amount) and this came out fantastic! It tasted so delicious i am so happy for this receipe. If i was able to upload a pic i would. Thanks for sharing this.
You can always share a pic with on Instagram or Facebook! Thanks for coming back and leaving a review. Happy you enjoyed!
I have never felt the need to comment -ever. But, this was amazing. I didn’t change a thing (never do the 1st time). Perfection.
Aw, thanks for coming back to let me know! I’m glad you liked it!
So when do we use the wok you mention in the tools?
You can use the wok to fry in and thorough out the dish or you can use it from step 9 onward.
OMG!!!! I had a few things in the fridge and cabinets. This was by far the best recipe I’ve ever had on such short notice . Took a little longer to prepare but soooooo worth it !!!! Its in my recipe box now
So happy to hear that! It’s a good one to have on hand for whenever you are looking for a yummy, different dinner!