Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken
This Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe pairs slightly crispy fried chicken with a trio of sweet bell peppers and sweet yet tangy pineapple-laced sauce. It’s a family favorite and is ready and on the table in less than 30 minutes.
This post has been written in partnership with Success Rice. All opinions are mine alone.
Sweet and Sour Chicken is a classic Chinese takeout option that we make all the time at home. While I prefer General Tso’s Chicken, my wife Shanna finds her favorite in the sweet and sour glazed fried chicken made tossed with fresh green, red, and yellow bell peppers.
It’s a dish that is sure to impress and while it takes no time to prepare, pairing it with Success Rice that is ready in 10 minutes makes it a no-brainer for any family dinner night. (You gotta make sure to have plenty of white rice on hand to soak up all the tasty sweet and sour sauce.)
Some may find reproducing their favorite takeout to be quite intimidating, but once you get the flavors and technique down, it is much easier to make than you would think.
Ingredients you’ll need:
- Depending on how much rice you like, you can go with the regular-size back or family-size bag of Success Rice. We like a lot of rice, so we always opt for the family size.
- You’ll need chicken breast and because seasoning your protein is important (don’t just rely on the sauce for the flavor), you’ll also need black pepper, tarragon, ground ginger, garlic powder, and Himalayan pink salt.
- This recipe uses a “seasoned” all-purpose flour to coat the chicken lightly. So, in addition to the flour, you’ll need Himalayan pink salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. And one egg is used as a binder for the coating.
- And for that deliciously sticky sweet and sour glaze, you’ll combine apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, pineapple juice, soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce, rice vinegar, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, cornstarch, water, minced garlic, ground ginger, Himalayan pink salt, and garlic powder.
Recipe Tips & Substitutions
You don’t want your dish to contain more batter than tasty chicken so keep the breading light. One toss in the flour will do just fine. A doughy costing will absorb your sauce like a sponge, and you don’t want that.
If your chicken is submerged in your oil, 5-6 minutes of cooking time at medium-high heat will do. Remember, the chicken will continue to cook while it is combined with the hot sauce.
The recipe is all about the sauce, and there are a few ingredients you just can’t skimp on if you want that takeout taste. Those ingredients are the soy sauce, the oyster sauce (I use a vegan version), and the apple cider vinegar. You can substitute rice vinegar for apple cider vinegar.
So skip the take-out and make sure to tune in – this Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe is so good that you’ll put it on the permanent rotation.
If you like this recipe, you’ll also enjoy:
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Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe pairs slightly crispy fried chicken with a trio of sweet bell peppers, and sweet yet tangy pineapple-laced sauce. It’s a family favorite and is ready and on the table in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 Bag Success Rice
- 1 lb Boneless Chicken Breast
- 1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Tarragon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
- 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Large Organic Egg
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
- 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 1/4 cup Pineapple Juice (from canned pineapples)
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Vegan Oyster Sauce
- 1 tsp Rice Vinegar
- 1/2 cup Green Bell Peppers, chopped
- 1/2 cup Red Bell Peppers, chopped
- 1/2 cup Yellow Bell Peppers, chopped
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch + 3 tbsp Water
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
- 1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Cook the Success Rice bag per the instructions, then set it to the side.
- Cut chicken breast into cubes, then season evenly with 1 tsp black pepper, tarragon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Set it to the side.
- In a bowl, add egg and whisk (paid link) and set to the side. In a large bowl, add flour, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp salt into a separate large bowl, then whisk (paid link) and set to the side. Coat chicken in egg mixture, then coat in the flour mixture. Set it to the side.
- Add cooking oil to a frying pan at high heat and pan-fry chicken for 4 to 6 minutes. REmove from heat and place on rack or paper towel.
- For the sauce, add chopped peppers to a saute pan at medium heat. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, pineapple juice, soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, garlic powder, ground ginger, and salt. Stir slowly until well blended. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl and mix. Add to the same pan. Cook at medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes. Lower the heat to low.
- Place cooked chicken into the sauce and coat well. Serve immediately with Success Rice.
Notes
To transform this recipe to gluten-free, replace the cornstarch with arrowroot (an easy one-to-one substitution) and replace the all-purpose flour with almond flour.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Comfort Food
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Asian
Nutrition
- Calories: 592
- Sugar: 25.5g
- Sodium: 745mg
- Fat: 10.3g
- Carbohydrates: 80.4g
- Fiber: 2.1g
- Protein: 40.9g
- Cholesterol: 147mg
Keywords: Sweet & Sour Chicken, Chinese takeout chicken recipes