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.
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
- 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
Calories: 602kcal | Carbohydrates: 92g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 190mg | Sodium: 588mg | Potassium: 1082mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 65g | Vitamin A: 1385IU | Vitamin C: 79.5mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 2.4mg
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My daughter made this for me and it blew me out of the water! Beats any restaurant I’ve had this in! Keep posting more recipes!!
My first time trying to make Chinese! Super easy and so delicious! Easy to follow recipe.
Went fast in our family. Tasted awesome with frozen fried rice mixed in
This came out so delicious! I am so glad I ran into this recipe! The house was delighted.
Added Zucchini, broccoli and mushrooms in place of the red and green peppers (still had the orange pepper). Turned out great, good way to use up extra veggies without spoiling the theme.
When you are “cooking” the chicken and the oil, I take it in the oven…what temp, how long please? Then you remove all but 1 tablespoon oil and you cook with the pepper, onion, pineapple. What is that temp? Same as before but what was it? Thanks. My first time doing anything like this. No mention of the cooking part in the directions that I can see. Thanks for answering.
Hi! For this recipe when I put ” cook the remaining chicken you are cooking it all in the oil, no oven needed at all for this recipe. The wording is a little confusing, sorry!
So very yummy. Sweet and sour chicken is a favorite of mine. I made this recipe with using chicken, and tonight I used shrimp …same process, just with shrimp. Worked out perfectly! I am allergic to pineapple, so I cubed up mango instead.
I’m not sure but I must have done something wrong by reading the other contents. I followed recipe but it was so strong of vinegar, it was terrible. So disappointed.
I made the sweet n sour chicken for dinner tonight, is one of the Best recipes I’ve made. It’s a keeper. Thanks for sharing
I will make more sauce next time, but this recipe on a bed of jasmine rice and an egg roll on the side was delish!! I did have to cook the chicken pieces way longer than stated. I had them in cornstarch for quite a while and they didnt brown for a very long time(5 to 8 mins) That could’ve been why?
The best recipe!
Add scallions after cooking for extra special flavor
Thank you very much the sweet and sour chicken it looks very nice I never cooked I will today for lunch for my Family please keep sending me your receipt also deserts, I like to cook
My Family said it’s the best sweet and sour chicken I have ever made! They even liked it better than the Hong Kong! The Only change I made is I added the Pineapple Juice from the canned pineapple chunks into the sauce. It’s a lot of work, but so worth it.
So glad you and your family enjoyed it!
How much pineapple juice?
This is my second time making this! It’s excellent! My husband also says it’s the best he’s ever had! It’s hard to eat takeout after making this!
Just sitting down to eat this with the family. Everyone loves it!
I made the sweet n sour chicken for dinner tonight, is one of the Best recipes I’ve made. It’s a keeper. Thanks for sharing
Thank you Sharon!
Absolutely Delicious. Added a bit of jalapeno for a kicker. Wow!! 10 out of 10.
Are you supposed to cook the chicken in oven? Why transfer to a bakingnsheet?
Its just to be used in place of paper towels so you don’t soak out all the juices.
This is an excellent Sweet & Sour Chicken! We loved it, thought it was better than restaurant made, & it will definitely go into my recipe rotation.
My family just loves this!! No more takeout for us!!
Even though it took my chicken longer to get golden, I needn’t have worried. It was exceptionally tasty and tender, and my husband declared it the best he had ever had, including restaurants! The sauce was perfect! I served all this over rice, and it was absolutely delicious. Using fresh pineapple is a real plus!
Sweet and sour chicken ,,wow wow wow ,so easy and so good, better than the restaurant
So very delicious! It will be added to our favorites list.
Tasted better than any we’ve had as a takeaway, will be on our monthly meal planner thanks
I made this last night and it was excellent! I was wondering if it would be possible to cook the chicken in an air fryer instead of deep frying in so much oil?