Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

sweet and sour chicken

(2 ratings)
Recipe by
Fran Say
Sunnyvale, CA

The trick to this dish is double-frying the chicken, which keeps it nice and crispy.

(2 ratings)
yield 6 -8

Ingredients For sweet and sour chicken

  • 1 lb
    boneless chicken, trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • MARINADE:
  • 1 tsp
    shaoxing cooking wine or dry sherry
  • 1 tsp
    granulated garlic
  • 1/2 tsp
    salt
  • 1 pinch
    chinese five-spice powder
  • BATTER:
  • 1/2 c
    flour
  • 1/2 c
    cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp
    baking powder
  • 1 c
    water
  • 1 tsp
    vegetable oil
  • 3-4 c
    vegetable oil, for deep frying
  • FOR STIR-FRY:
  • 3 Tbsp
    vegetable oil, for stir-frying
  • 1 md
    bell pepper, seeded, cut into bite-size chunks
  • 1/4 md
    yellow onion, cut into 1-inch squares
  • 1/4 md
    carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 c
    pineapple chunks
  • 2 Tbsp
    cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp water
  • SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:
  • 1 md
    orange
  • 1 md
    lemon
  • 1
    ginger, about 1-1/2-in. long, crushed
  • 1 c
    ketchup
  • 1 c
    sugar
  • 3/4 c
    distilled white vinegar
  • 2 c
    water
  • 1 pinch
    salt

How To Make sweet and sour chicken

  • 1
    SWEET & SOUR SAUCE: Wash orange and lemon. Squeeze juice from orange and lemon into a saucepan, adding in the rinds. Add ginger, then stir in ketchup, sugar, water, vinegar, an salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
  • 2
    CHICKEN & MARINADE: Combine chicken and Marinade ingredients and let stand for at least 30 minutes.
  • 3
    BATTER: Combine Batter ingredients and mix well. It should be the consistency of heavy cream.
  • 4
    DEEP FRYING: In a deep fryer or deep frying pan, heat oil to 325°F. Pour just enough batter over chicken pieces to coat. Add the coated chicken pieces in batches and fry about 3 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove and drain. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
  • 5
    DOUBLE DEEP FRY: Raise temperature of oil to 350-360°F. Return a batch of the chicken pieces to oil and fry until golden brown; remove and drain. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Remove hot oil from pan.
  • 6
    STIR-FRY: Heat up frying pan or wok over medium-high heat for about 1 minute. Add 3 tbsp vegetable oil and then add 1-1/2 cups of prepared sweet and sour sauce, all vegetables, and pineapple chunks. Bring to a boil and let bubble for 30 seconds, then thicken with 2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp water.
  • 7
    When sauce is thickened, add chicken pieces, toss to coat, and serve hot.

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