Updated on June 25th, 2022
Tonight I was in the mood for Chinese and decided to make some sweet and sour chicken. This recipe is by far the best sweet and sour chicken I have ever tasted, nothing compares. I tried this at multiple buffets and none of them were even close to this good, maybe I should have given them this recipeJ? Sweet and sour chicken is deep-fried breaded white meat chicken, coated or served with sweet and sour sauce. If you don’t know anything about the sauce, don’t worry because this article includes an amazing recipe for sweet and sour sauce as well! What really makes this recipe stand out from others or the buffets are the fruits and vegetables that go in it. We are tossing a generous amount of pineapple, green peppers, tomatoes, and onions into this dish. If you try this and like it, stay on the lookout for my sweet and sour pork recipe coming soon. Enjoy.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound of boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1” chunks
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 10-ounce can pineapple chunks (reserve juice)
- 1/4 cup juice from the canned pineapple
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
- 2–3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cooking oil
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Instructions
- Coat chicken with egg white, salt, and cornstarch: In a bowl, combine the chicken with the egg white, salt, and cornstarch. Stir to coat the chicken evenly. Let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
- Make the sweet-sour sauce: Whisk together the pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup, salt, and brown sugar.
- Stir-fry chicken: Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates. Pour in the 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat. It’s important that the pan is very hot.
- Add the chicken and spread the chicken out in one layer. Let the chicken fry, untouched for 1 minute, until the bottoms are browned.
- Flip and fry the other side the same for 1 minute. The chicken should still be pinkish in the middle. Dish out the chicken onto a clean plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.
- Stir fry bell pepper and ginger: Turn the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. Let the oil heat up and then add the bell pepper chunks and ginger. Fry for 1 minute.
- Add pineapple, sweet-sour sauce, let simmer, add chicken: Add the pineapple chunks and the sweet and sour sauce. Turn the heat to high and when the sauce is simmering, add the chicken pieces back in.
- Let simmer for 1-2 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Timing depends on how thick you’ve cut your chicken. The best way to tell if the chicken is done is to take a piece out and cut into it. If it’s pink, add another minute to the cooking.
- Taste the sauce and add more brown sugar if you’d like.
can i add other vegetables to it or will it be to much? i was thinking like mushrooms,red pepper?
kamila – You can add whatever veggies you want to this recipe.
Hello, I made this exact recipe the other night with my partner, and despite the mess we made we loved the dish but with a few different ingredients. I added carrots. The only problem I had with the recipe is the sauce, two tablespoons of cornstarch was too much and it made the sauce way to thick. Not too waste any of the ingredients, we decided to fix it by adding more of everything and it turned out perfect.
For future reference 4 tbsp of cornstarch is enough to thicken three times more of the rest of the ingredients (ie. 1andhalf c of vinegar, 1c sugar,3/4c of pineapple juice, etc..).
Next time we’re going to make more chicken then vegetables, as the rest of his family loved it! Best served with rice.
Hi!
I’m going to try cooking this for a VERY picky eater who loves Sweet and Sour chicken. I know for a fact there’s no chance he’ll eat it if I include the fruits and veggies. Do you think this recipe will still taste like regular sweet & sour chicken without your additions?
Thanks! I love your website.
Jessica
Hi Bobby, thak you so much for the recipi i have been wanting to make this dish for years only never came around to do in have eaten it several times on the other side of the world, hwever this recipi is exactly the same taste as the dish i loved during my vacation. thax again.
Thank you for this perfect recipe, I have tried it and it is very very perfect, I love it 🙂
This was delicious!!!! My family loved it. It wasn’t greasy like most sweet & sour chicken. I will definately make this again!!! I will look for more recipes from Bobby. This was really easy to make and fast. Love it!
I cooked this recipe last night. Im a rookie when it comes to cooking and this was a no-fail recipe! The photos definetly did help and it was delicious! My family isnt a fan of tomatoes so we substituted them for yellow pepper. 10-10. Although next time I will definetly serve over rice, the flavor is delicious but a white rice would compiment it nicely, as the flavours are very sweet.
Thank you so much for the Sweet and Sour Chicken receipe. It is awesome !! I had never made any of this from scratch but tried it and it was a big hit with my family. They said it was better than the Chinese place. Thanks again.
I’m so glad I stubbled across you website – Made this last night and I can’t believe my fussy husband and children LOVED IT…..thank you for making everything look so easy.
How many servings does this recipe serve, and do we NEED the pineapple juice?
Stacie- this will probably serve about 6. You could try leaving out the pineapple juice but I am not sure how it will turn out. If you try it please let everyone know the results.
Just delicious!!!!
After trying your orange chicken recipe,which my family and I enjoy greatly(and make often), I had high hopes for your sweet and sour chicken recipe. I made it last night and my husband said it tasted like ketchup without even knowing that was one of the ingredients. Personally I thought the flavor of the ketchup was overbearing and even unnecessary and made the sauce taste well, like ketchup. I will try to omit it next time and see how it tastes that way. Anyway, thank you for sharing–will definitively try your other Asian recipes.
Thanks so much Bobby I love going to Chinese buffets to only grab the rice and sweet and sour chicken it has a very smooth breading in which I love I’ll be cooking this tonight hopefully it turns out great since im a new cook thanks again!
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe.