Why order takeout when you can make this delicious Sweet and Sour Chicken right at home? 🍗🍍 With tender, juicy chicken pieces fried to perfection and coated in a crispy, flavorful batter, this dish is easier and healthier than your usual takeout. The homemade sweet and sour sauce, made with vinegar, ketchup, and sugar, is perfectly balanced and cooked with aromatic bell peppers, onions, and sweet pineapples that bring everything together.
This recipe is quick, budget-friendly, and guaranteed to please the whole family. Forget about those expensive takeout bills—this Sweet and Sour Chicken is all you need for a satisfying, crowd-pleasing meal. Give it a try and watch everyone come back for seconds!
INGREDIENTS
Chicken Marinade:
Chicken - 400g
Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
Oyster Sauce - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Corn Starch - 1 tbsp
Water - 1 tbsp
Batter:
Corn Starch - 1/4 cup
Flour - 3 tbsp
Egg - 1 medium
Sweet and Sour sauce:
White Vinegar - 1/2 cup
Corn Starch - 1 tbsp
Ketchup - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Other:
Bell Peppers - 120g
Onion - 120g
Pineapple - 170g
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp (while cooking the sauce)
Cooking oil - 2 cups (to fry the chicken)
PROCESS
Marinade the chicken with soy sauce (1 tbsp), oyster sauce (1 tbsp), corn starch (1 tbsp), salt (1/2 tsp) and water (1 tbsp), then leave it aside
Prepare other ingredients: cut up bell peppers, onions, and pineapples into bite size pieces. They should be in similar shape/size. (If you use canned pineapples, drain the liquid and pat dry and pineapple pieces)
Prepare the sweet and sour sauce ahead of the cooking process by mixing white vinegar (1/2 cup), tomato ketchup (1/4 cup), sugar (1/4 cup) and salt (1 tsp).
Right before frying, coat the chicken in batter made of corn starch (1/4 cup), flour (3 tbsp) and 1 egg.
Add 2 cups of cooking oil to the wok (sunflower oil, canola oil, vegetable oil or peanut oil).
When the oil is hot, add chicken pieces one by one so they don’t stick to each other. Do not touch the chicken for about one minute to let the coating set. Then use a spatula to move the chicken pieces around and fry for about 3-4 pieces. If your chicken pieces are smaller, cook four about 1-2 minutes. Fry in batches to avoid overcrowding the wok.
Then put chicken pieces on a wire rack to drain the oil.
Turn up the stove so the oil is now very hot, then add chicken pieces back into the wok and fry on a high heat for about 30 seconds. This double-frying process will make the coating crispier. Then take chicken out of the wok and back onto the wire rack to drain the oil once again.
Remove all the oil from the wok and put the wok back onto the stove on medium heat.
Add bell pepper and onion pieces to the wok and fry for 2 minutes or until they start to char. Then take them out of the wok and leave aside on a plate/bowl.
Add pineapple pieces and fry for 1-2 minutes. Once they are charred on the sides, put them in the same plate/bowl as the bell peppers and onions.
Add 1 tbsp of the same oil we used to fry the chicken into the wok. Add the sweet and sour sauce and slowly stir and bring it to a simmer. At this stage, taste the sauce and adjust the taste if necessary.
Once it starts to simmer, turn down the heat and continue to stir until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy.
At that stage, add back the bell pepper, onion, and pineapple pieces into the sauce. Mix well.
Add chicken pieces and coat everything in the delicious sweet and sour sauce.
