Homemade crispy sweet and sour chicken with a better-than-takeout sauce made from store cupboard ingredients!
What ingredients could possibly give sweet and sour chicken that tangy, sweet and well, sour flavour?
Actually quick a bizarre combination:
- Ketchup – and plenty of it – for a tanginess and colour. I don’t eat a lot of ketchup, but it’s a must for this dish.
- Malt vinegar – it’s the best type of vinegar I’ve found for getting the ‘right’ touch of sourness.
- Brown sugar – for rounded sweetness, and to counteract any bitterness in the vinegar.
- Pineapple chunks in pineapple juice – yep, rather than chopping up a fresh pineapple, I find pineapple chunks actually work better, and the juice is an all-important element to the sweet–tangy flavour of the sauce.
And of course we’re doing this sweet and sour chicken Hong Kong style – which means the chicken is chopped into bite-sized pieces, dredged in a flavourful coating then fried to crisp perfection, before being coated in that sweet and sour sauce.
Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe. You can get the detailed steps and quantities in the recipe card below.
We start by coating the chicken in cornflour (cornstarch), then egg and then seasoned flour. Then fry in oil until crispy. You can do this in two batches if your pan is on the small side. I can just about do it in one batch in my wok. Then remove the crispy chicken from the wok.
Check the chicken is fully cooked:
If you want to ensure the chicken is fully cooked, slice open one of the larger pieces you can find, and make sure it’s no longer pink in the middle. If it’s white with no pink areas, it’s cooked.
Now onto the sauce. We fry onions and peppers in a wok until very lightly softened (just a couple of minutes), then add garlic and ginger, followed by those all-important bizarre ingredients: ketchup, malt vinegar, brown sugar and tinned pineapple (including the juice). Bring it to the boil.
Let the sauce bubble for a few minutes, so it thickens slightly like this (it will thicken a little more when you add the chicken back in).
Then add in that crispy chicken and carefully toss in the sauce. So tasty!!
I love sweet and sour chicken from the takeaway, but there are a couple of things I don’t love:
- The sauce is too bright orange – like glow in the dark orange. I’ve heard they use food colouring to get it that vivid (does anyone know for sure? let me know in the comments). Mine’s very red (from the ketchup) but the colour is toned down by the addition of dark brown sugar.
- The crisp coating is often flavourless. It’s more there for crunch, rather than to add additional flavour. I add extra seasoning and spices into my coating, so even without the sauce, it tastes delicious.
Can bake the chicken instead of frying it?
Yep! I have a recipe for baked sweet and sour chicken on the blog too.
I have a full section dedicated to Asian food, but here are some of my favourite Chinese picks:
- Sesame Chicken – A reader top favourite and top-rated recipe
- Spicy Ginger Beef Sir Fry – with lovely shredded and crispy fried ginger on top
- Sticky Chinese Pork Belly – melt in the mouth sticky deliciousness
- Crispy Chilli Beef with Broccoli – Chris’s number one favourite dish that I make
- Honey Garlic Chicken – so juicy and moreish
- Pulled Crispy Duck (with homemade plum sauce) – an easy method to get shredded crispy duck at home
- Sticky, Slow-Cooked Pork Ribs – hands down the best ribs I’ve ever tasted
What to serve with sweet and sour chicken:
- Boiled rice – check out my full post on how to boil rice (the method I ALWAYS use)
- Special Fried Rice – masterclass post on getting it perfect!
- Just leave the chicken out of my Lo Mein recipe for a lovely noodle side dish.
- Maybe add a side of spare ribs? These are Asian style ribs topped with crispy onions, inspired by a restaurant we went to in China town in London.
Watch how to make it:
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 90 g (3/4 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 3 chicken breast fillets chopped into bite-size chunks
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 1 red pepper chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 green pepper chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped/crushed
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 150 ml (2/3 cup) tomato ketchup
- 2 tbsp malt vinegar
- 6 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar
- 475 g (17 oz) canned pineapple chunks in juice
To Serve:
- egg fried rice or boiled rice
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan until very hot.5 tbsp vegetable oil
- Whilst the oil is heating, place the egg in one shallow bowl and the cornflour in another shallow bowl. Add the flour, salt, pepper, garlic salt and paprika to another shallow bowl and mix together.2 eggs lightly beaten, 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), 90 g (3/4 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, ½ tsp garlic salt, 2 tsp paprika
- Dredge the chicken in the cornflour, then dip it in the egg (make sure all of the chicken is covered in egg wash), and finally dredge it in the seasoned flour. Add to the wok and cook on a high heat for 6-7 minutes, turning two or three times during cooking, until well browned. You may need to cook in two batches (I find I can do it in one batch so long as it's no more than 3 chicken breasts). Remove from the pan and place in a bowl lined with kitchen towels.3 chicken breast fillets
- Whilst the chicken is cooking, you can start on your sauce.
- Add the oil to a large frying pan/skillet, heat it up on a medium-to-high heat and add in the onions. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the onions start to go translucent.1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 large onion
- Add the peppers and cook for a further minute.1 red pepper, 1 green pepper
- Add in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add the tomato ketchup, vinegar, dark brown sugar, and the tinned pineapple (including the juice and stir. Bring to the boil, and then turn down the heat and let it bubble (stirring every so often until slightly thickened.2 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 150 ml (2/3 cup) tomato ketchup, 2 tbsp malt vinegar, 6 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar, 475 g (17 oz) canned pineapple chunks in juice
- Transfer the cooked crispy chicken to the pan with the sauce and toss to coat.
- Serve with boiled or fried rice and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.egg fried rice or boiled rice, 1 tsp sesame seeds
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Absolutely amazing! Tried it and it was delicious. I added a little sesame oil to the sauce.
Just tried this for first time (first time cooking sweet & sour from scratch). Absolutely fantastic result. Simple and enjoyable to cook and WOW what a taste. Can’t wait to cook it again. Thank you.
My teenage daughter, who is the food critic from the deep dark beyond, loves this recipe. She has asked for it twice within a week. So easy to add in the odd battered crispy vegetable, such as aubergine or zucchini. Thank you for an amazing addition to my “favourite recipes” folder!
Won’t change a thing. It was really good. Made it for church and daughters birthday aswell
I made this last night for the family and it was a hit!!
“Prep time: 10 minutes”
Common mate, really?
What a wonderfully simple delicious meal. A hit with the whole family.
So easy to follow and quick. The rice cooking is equally quick.
Will definitely cook again. Love the flavour.