Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe:- The Sweet and Sour Chicken dish is prepared with crispy chicken, pineapple, and bell peppers, much like your favourite takeout restaurant, but without the use of bright food colouring.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Sweet and Sour Chicken, A Classic
Chicken with a sweet and sour sauce is a traditional Chinese takeaway dish that the majority of us are too terrified to attempt to prepare at home. Cooking with pineapple and using woks are two of the things that most people find scary about this dish; nevertheless, it is actually lot simpler to prepare than you might imagine.
The sweet and sour chicken recipe is the one that I hear about the most when it comes to the traditional Chinese dishes that are requested on my blog by the majority of website visitors. It’s not just the recipe that’s the problem; it’s also that sauce. I completely understand. During the time that I was a teenager and I was making this sauce for the very first time, I also began to learn how to use chopsticks. So for a whole month (I kid you not, my mother was not delighted with this), I ate every meal with chopsticks and had a tiny bowl of sweet and sour chicken sauce to dip everything into. I did this because I was determined to improve my eating habits.
How to make Sweet and Sour Chicken
There are a few pointers that I would like to share with you when it comes to the preparation of a delicious recipe for sweet and sour chicken.
Be sure to keep the breading really light and crispy. I have been experimenting with this recipe in both a tempura batter and a cornflour coating. Both of these methods have been successful. The use of cornflour is my personal preference because of its simplicity of application; nevertheless, you should avoid using something doughy that will absorb your sauce like a sponge.
Ensure that you are using pineapple chunks of a high quality. Either a fresh pineapple that is quite sweet or the frozen chunks that you can purchase at Costco are my favourites. They consistently provide frozen pineapple of a great quality, and I have never been let down by their products.
Onions should not be skipped. While I am aware that some individuals may have aversions to them, I would like to point out that the onions and bell peppers play a significant part in bringing the flavours of the dish into harmony. In the absence of them, you would be offered an entirely sweet main course, with the pineapple serving as the sole source of sourness. Cutting through the sweetness is made easier by the addition of a little bit of bitterness from the peppers and onions. You may be sure that you will be attempting to acquire additional onion pieces (provided that you do not already have a strong aversion to onions).
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
See Also: Ciambella Recipe Step By Step Guide
Instructions
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To make the sauce, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic into a small bowl.
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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.
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Heat the oil on medium high to high heat, you’re looking for the chicken to cook and brown in about 2-3 minutes.
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Add the cornstarch to a large ziplock bag.
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Add the chicken pieces to the large ziplock bag and shake until all the pieces are well coated.
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Dip the pieces into the egg, then into the flour before adding to the hot oil. Add chicken in batches so as not to have more than a single layer of it in the oil at a time.
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Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes, until cooked through and crispy.
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Remove to a cookie sheet (no paper towels!) and continue cooking the remaining batches of chicken pieces.
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When done cooking remove all but a tablespoon of the oil.
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Add the bell peppers, onion and pineapple and cook for 1-2 minutes, until crisp-tender.
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Add the sauce back in and stir to coat the pieces and cook for 30 seconds to help the garlic warm through.
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Add the chicken pieces back in and stir until the sauce has thickened and bubbling.
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Serve immediately, with optional garnishes of sesame seeds or green onions.