Sweet and Sour Chicken is always a favorite Chinese takeout meal, but you can easily make it at home! With crispy chicken, sauteed peppers and a tangy sauce, it's sure to please the whole family.
Bulk item used: Corn Starch
Our family loves Asian food, but unfortunately, one of our kids has a sesame allergy. I can't tell you how many times we've been reassured at an Asian restaurant that there is no sesame or sesame oil involved in what we are ordering, only to have my daughter eat it and get sick. Needless to say, we don't get Chinese take out anymore. 😞
We've gotten pretty good at making our favorite recipes at home though, and today's recipe for homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken is our favorite! In fact, I think it tastes even better than takeout.
Tips for Making Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Use corn starch instead of flour on the chicken. Corn starch results in a crispier texture and also gets you an appealing golden color. This is because unlike flour, corn starch has no gluten. (Check out "Cornstarch Vs Flour: When to Use Each" if you are interested in learning about when to best use these two similar ingredients).
- Use kitchen scissors. Cutting up green onions and raw chicken is a breeze with kitchen scissors. I think its a lot easier than using a knife. Just make sure you cut the green onions before the chicken, so you don't contaminate the onions.
- Cook the chicken in batches. Trust me, I hate cooking food in batches even more than you do. But if you want your chicken to be evenly crispy, you've got to give them enough room in your frying pan to not touch each other. If this means working in batches, so be it. Just make sure to add more oil into the pan between batches if there isn't enough left. Not enough oil=burnt=no bueno.
- Customize your veggies! If you don't love bell peppers, try using some different veggies instead. I think broccoli would be fantastic, as would zucchini. I always serve this with a side of peas that I end up mixing in as well. Feeling wild? Add in some Pineapple! Let me know how you made it in the comments and how it turned out!
I hope you enjoy this tasty meal!
XOXO, Ems
📖 Recipe
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- chicken breasts
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 eggs, beaten
- oil for frying
- 2 bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks any color will do
- 1 onion, cut into large chunks
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce *reduced sodium is great!
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 green onion, sliced for garnish
- sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Make the sauce first by whisking together the brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic. Set aside.
- Place the chicken in a large bowl and sprinkle the corn starch on top. Mix until all the chicken is coated, adding more corn starch in if necessary. Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to cover the entire bottom about ½ inch. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Pour the beaten eggs onto a plate and dip the corn starch covered chicken into the eggs and then add them into the hot oil. Let cook for 2 mins and then flip to cook on the other side for an additional 2 min. (Work in batches if necessary, the chicken pieces should not be touching each other while cooking. This will ensure maximum crispiness! Add more oil into the pan if necessary) When chicken is done cooking, remove from pan and set aside.
- With about 1 tablespoon of oil left in the pan, saute the peppers and onions for 3 minutes. You want them to soften a bit, but still be crisp. Add the chicken back into the pan.
- Pour the sauce into the pan and stir to coat all the chicken and veggies. Stir occasionally until the sauce has thickened.
- Serve over rice, and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Nutrition
This recipe was inspired by Dinner than Dessert's "Sweet and Sour Chicken." It's an awesome blog, you should check it out!
Leeandra says
This looks amazing! I definitely want to try this out! Great tips too!
Emily says
Thanks! I hope you like it!
Millie says
This is also one of my family's favorite dish when we order Chinese food. You made it look so easy! I'll give it a try!
Chenée says
Omg I LOVE sweet and sour chicken and this looks amazing! Cant wait to make it.
Fransic verso says
That’s unfortunate, I hope she is all better and you did a wise choice for not taking any Chinese food for the sake of your daughter. I know its addicting and some of my friends always love to eat them.
Nadina says
This recipe looks so delicious! Can’t wait to try it!!
Ghulam Mohyudin says
It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
Audrey at Two Pink Peonies says
This looks fantastic! I can't wait to try the recipe.
Emily says
I hope you like it!