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Homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken brings your favorite Chinese takeout dish right to your kitchen without being intimidating. The easy sweet and sour sauce has an authentic taste and the dish is loaded with peppers, onions, pineapple and delicious chicken that is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
The extra crispy chicken for sweet and sour makes this dish a classic favorite. Paired with the flavorful sauce and crunchy veggies, homemade sweet and sour chicken will beat out any similar restaurant-style dish. This recipe is so easy to make at home it will become a regular on your meal rotation list.
If you love crispy chicken, try my Baked Crispy Chicken Tenders, Korean Crispy Fried Chicken or Crispy Chicken Bites.
Why You’ll Love This Chinese Takeout Recipe
- It’s got an authentic flavor. The easy sweet and sour sauce replicates your favorite restaurant dish, minus the red food dye.
- It’s easy to make. Don’t let the seemingly long list of ingredients scare you away. This dish comes together quickly and it is simple to make.
- It’s frugal. Making homemade sweet and sour chicken will save you money, and you can easily swap the vegetables to use up what you have on hand.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Ingredients
- Chicken: cut chicken tenderloin or chicken breast into 1-inch cubes.
- Corn Starch: for coating the chicken.
- Eggs: beat room temperature eggs to coat the chicken before dredging in the flour mixture.
- Bell Pepper: cube a combination of red, orange and green bell pepper.
- Pineapple: use chunks of canned pineapple, reserving the juice for the sauce.
- Onion: cut a medium sweet onion into chunks.
- Olive Oil: use any neutral, light-tasting oil to stir fry the veggies.
- Oil: for deep frying
- Sesame Seeds: for garnishing
- All-purpose flour: Substitute a gluten-free flour if preferred.
- Seasonings: Use a combination of onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and salt to flavor the chicken.
Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Ketchup: use low-sugar ketchup if preferred.
- Seasonings: onion powder and fresh garlic add a rich, earthy flavor to the sauce.
- Soy Sauce: use lite or low sodium soy sauce. You can also substitute gluten free tamari or amino acids.
- Rice Vinegar: rice vinegar has a mild, sweet taste. Use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar if preferred.
- Corn Starch: To thicken the sauce.
- Sugar: a combination of light brown sugar and granulated sugar sweeten the sauce.
- Pineapple Juice: reserved from the can of pineapples.
How To Make Homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Prepare the equipment. In a large deep pan, preheat the oil to medium heat.
- Prepare the chicken. Pat dry the chicken tenderloins, cut into one-inch cubes and transfer to a bowl. Add the corn starch to the chicken and toss around to coat well. Set aside.
- Prepare the dredging stations for the chicken. In two other small bowls, beat the eggs in one and mix together the flour coating mix ingredients in another.
- Coat the chicken. Dip one piece of chicken into the egg bath and then into the dry flour coating mix. Transfer the piece on a cookie rack and repeat steps for the remainder of the chicken pieces.
- Fry the chicken. Fry the chicken pieces in the heated oil for about 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook them in two batches if your pan is small. Remove the chicken from the frying pan and set on a plate lined with paper towel. Set aside.
- Prepare the sweet and sour sauce. In a bowl or cup, mix together the sweet and sour sauce ingredients.
- Stir Fry the veggies. Heat another pan over medium heat, add in the light tasting olive oil. Pan sear the cubed veggies (not the pineapple) until tender. Remove and set aside. About 3-4 minutes.
- Thicken the sauce. In the same pan, add in the sweet and sour sauce mix. Simmer on medium low heat, mixing constantly until the sauce thickens up. About 2-3 minutes.
- Combine and serve. Once the sauce has thickened up, add in the chicken, veggies and pineapple chunks. Mix together to coat well and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and garnish with some sesame seeds if desired.
Tips To Make Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
- Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breast.
- Cut your chicken into even sized pieces. This helps it to cook evenly.
- Heat the oil well before frying the chicken.
- Add a bit of red pepper flakes to the sauce for a bit of heat.
- Add more vegetables like carrots, broccoli, mushrooms or zucchini.
- Don’t overcook the veggies. They should still have some bite to them.
- The sauce will thicken while cooking but will continue to thicken as it cools.
- This dish is best served right away.
- Serve with a side of rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sweet and sour sauce contains a fair amount of sugar, so it would not be considered a healthy food. However, when enjoyed in moderation as part of a balanced diet, it is not regarded as unhealthy.
Canned pineapple is certainly convenient, but you can use fresh pineapple if preferred.
This recipe will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can microwave the leftovers, but reheating in a skillet with a bit of oil will yield better results.
After frying the chicken, flash freeze on a cookie sheet and freeze in an airtight container or bag. Freeze raw stir-fry veggies and the prepared sauce in separate bags and combine as directed after thawing overnight in the fridge.
Serve this takeout style dish with noodles, rice or Cauliflower Rice. Make it a full meal by adding an appetizer like Shrimp Sushi Stack, Shrimp Lettuce Salad, Easy Sushi Bake, or Spicy Salmon and Rice Egg Rolls.
More Asian Recipes
- Chinese Honey Garlic Chicken
- Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps
- Easy Grilled Chicken Satay
- Chinese Szechuan Chili Chicken
- Chinese Lemon Chicken
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it, and share it with your friends and family!
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Homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken
Equipment
- Deep Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken tenderloin, cubed into 1 inch pieces
- ⅓ cup corn starch
- 2 whole eggs, beaten
- 1 large red bell pepper, cubed
- 1 large orange bell pepper, cubed
- 1 large green bell pepper, cubed
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 1 medium sweet onion, cubed
- 2 tbsps. olive oil, light tasting
- neutral oil, for deep frying
- sesame seeds, for garnishing
Chicken Flour Coating
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsps. lite soy sauce
- 3 tbsps. rice vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, large, minced
- 1½ tbsp. corn starch
- 2 tbsps. light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup pineapple juice, from chunk can
- 1 tbsp. neutral oil
Instructions
- In a large deep pan, preheat the oil to medium heat.
- Pat dry the chicken tenderloins, cut into one inch cubes and transfer to a bowl.
- Add the corn starch to the chicken and toss around to coat well. Set aside.
- In two other small bowls, beat the eggs in one and mix together the flour coating mix ingredients in another.
- Dip one piece of chicken into the egg bath and then into the dry flour coating mix. Transfer the piece on a cookie rack and repeat steps for the remainder of the chicken pieces.
- Fry the chicken pieces in the heated oil for about 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook them in two batches if your pan is small.
- Remove the chicken from the frying pan and set on a plate lined with paper towel. Set aside.
- In a bowl or cup, mix together the sweet and sour sauce ingredients.
- Heat another pan over medium heat, add in the light tasting olive oil. Pan sear the cubed veggies (not the pineapple) until tender. Remove and set aside. About 3-4 minutes.
- In the same pan, add in the sweet and sour sauce mix. Simmer on medium low heat, mixing constantly until the sauce thickens up. About 2-3 minutes.
- Once the sauce has thickened up, add in the chicken, veggies and pineapple chunks. Mix together to coat well and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and garnish with some sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
- Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breast.
- Cut your chicken into even sized pieces. This helps it to cook evenly.
- Heat the oil well before frying the chicken.
- Add a bit of red pepper flakes to the sauce for a bit of heat.
- Add more vegetables like carrots, broccoli, mushrooms or zucchini.
- Don’t overcook the veggies. They should still have some bite to them.
- The sauce will thicken while cooking but will continue to thicken as it cools.
- This dish is best served right away.
- Serve with a side of rice.
Looks good