Sweet and Sour Chicken. Crispy juicy chicken coated in a sweet, tangy, sticky sauce. A popular Chinese dish ready in 30 minutes.
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What is Sweet and Sour Chicken made of?
Sweet and Sour Chicken is a common Chinese takeout dish. This popular Chinese food is made of tender chicken coated in a batter, deep-fried and coated in sweet, tangy sauce with pineapple and bell peppers. You'll find this main dish served at many Chinese restaurants.
I love serving this as a main course with steamed white rice or brown rice and vegetables whenever my husband and I are craving Chinese. It saves us so much money on takeout.
I've been cooking this dish since I was young. I remember my first time trying to wing it without guidance and it was so hard to nail the right proportions for the sauce. But after many trials later, this is the one I'm most proud to share.
Ingredients
Please scroll down to the below recipe card for full measurements.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs: or substitute with boneless skinless chicken breasts. If you use breast, please reduce the cooking time to 3-5 minutes until juices run clear or until an internal temperature of 165F.
- Red Bell Peppers: or substitute with any color
- Canned Pineapple: Or substitute with fresh pineapple.
- Onion
- Cornstarch or potato starch
- Neutral oil: such as avocado oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil. Avoid coconut oil, olive oil or sesame oil as they are all too overpowering in scent and do not contain a high smoke point.
- Salt
- Garlic powder
Sweet and sour chicken sauce:
- Ketchup
- Brown sugar: or substitute with white sugar or cane sugar
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If youβre gluten-free, substitute a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- White vinegar: or substitute with rice vinegar
- Cold Water
- Cornstarch or potato starch
Optional garnish:
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Green onion
How to make Sweet and Sour Chicken
Make Sauce
In a small bowl combine sauce ingredients. Note: if you want extra sauce, I suggest doubling the Sauce ingredients. Set aside.
Dice & Season Chicken
Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces, about 1.5 x 1.5-inch pieces. Transfer into a large bowl. Set aside.
Season the amount of chicken with salt and garlic powder and mix well.
Coat Chicken
Then add cornstarch and mix until each piece is coated in starch. If you choose to use an air fryer to fry your chicken, please see the FAQ section below and skip steps 5-7.
Fry Chicken
In a large skillet on medium heat, add oil. Once oil is hot enough (test with wooden chopstick and look for bubbles), add coated chicken. Fry on each side for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on both sides.
Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon and place on a wire rack or plate lined with paper towels. Cooked chicken should have an internal temperature of 165 F or until juices run clear. If the chicken isn't crispy, increase to medium-high heat.
Discard excess oil from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon of the oil in the pan.
Cook Veggies & Pineapple
Into the same pan on medium heat, fry onions, red bell pepper and pineapples for 30 β 45 seconds.
Add Sauce
Pour in sauce. Let it simmer to thicken and reduce, a couple minutes.
Toss in Fried Chicken
Once thick, add back in fried chicken and mix to coat evenly. Remove off heat.
Optional: Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers will last up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or reheat in pan on medium heat on the stovetop until hot.
Expert Tips
- Dice chicken into equal size pieces. This will allow for an even cooking time.
- Do not constantly move chicken as your fry! This prevents your chicken from becoming crispy as the exterior doesn't get enough time to fry.
FAQ
Yes, follow my instructions below in the recipe card.
Other Chinese Recipes you may like!
- Sweet & Sour Battered Mushrooms
- Orange Chicken
- General Tso Chicken
- Mongolian Chicken
- Lemon Chicken
- Ginger Chicken
π Recipe
Quick & Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 red bell pepper diced (or sub with green, orange or yellow bell peppers)
- Β½ cup pineapple diced
- Β½ yellow onion sliced
- ΒΌ cup cornstarch or sub with potato starch
- β cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Β½ teaspoon garlic powder or 1 teaspoon minced garlic
Sauce:
- β cup ketchup
- Β½ cup brown sugar or white sugar
- ΒΌ cup white vinegar or rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon water cold
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or sub with potato starch
Optional garnish:
- Β½ teaspoon sesame seeds toasted
- 1 stalk green onion finely chopped
Instructions
- Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces, about 1.5 x 1.5-inch pieces. Transfer into a large bowl. Season chicken with salt and garlic powder and mix well. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Then add cornstarch to the chicken and toss in the starch until each piece is evenly coated.
- Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Once oil is hot enough (test with wooden chopstick and look for bubbles), add coated chicken.
- Fry on each side for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate or a cooling rack. Cooked chicken should have an internal temperature of 165 F or until juices run clear.
- Discard excess oil from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon of the oil.
- Into the same pan on medium heat, fry onions, red bell pepper and pineapples for 30 β 45 seconds.
- Pour in sauce and let it simmer to thicken and reduce, a couple minutes.
- Once thick, add back in fried chicken and mix to coat evenly. Remove off heat.
- Optional: Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Michelle | Sift & Simmer
Ahh this is such a nostalgic dish! My mom would make it on occasion since she doesn't like to deep fry too much. I love how your version is a shallow-fry -- keeps it a bit healthier! π Have a fantastic weekend, Christie!
Katerina | Once a Foodie
Mmmm, this looks absolutely delightful, Christie! I love that your version of sweet and sour chicken is not deep fried - that's so much better than the restaurant version. Yum!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I love what you used instead of pineapple juice to make the sauce... and those sesame seeds sprinkled on top make the chicken so tantalizing! π
Rosemary
OKAY I had no idea that ketchup went into sweet and sour chicken!! How cool hehe you really do learn something every day! BTW-- this looks beautiful!
Liz
We made this tonight & it was better than take out!! I shallow fried the chicken & just added some pineapple! Delicious Thanks Christie, weβll be making it again!
Cambrea gordon
This sweet and sour chicken is honestly AMAZING. We tried the shallow pan fry and I actually love it more than the typical deep fry! The flavor of the sauce is delicious and it was even better the next day. My favorite part was that I didn't need to go to the store to buy canned pineapple, I had everything on hand to make it! Highly recommend this recipe!!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe Cam! I am so glad you enjoyed it and you liked the shallow frying technique! Happy to hear that the flavour was stronger the next day π That's always a good thing.
Gigi HD
This recipe was super easy to follow and so delish!! My 3yo girl is a huge fan of this dish and Iβm now able to save $15/week on take out π I made two batches, one original for my girl and one spicy for myself by adding siracha to sauce mix. It was heavenly π Thanks Christie for this recipe!
Agustina
My friend! Iβve made the recipe and it came out spectacular! It was my first Asian food meal and I really enjoyed. The flavours, the ingredients and texture! Everything perfect! Thanks for sharing!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe!! I am really glad to read that you enjoyed it my friend! Happy it worked out and that I could introduce you to more Asian flavours π
Hasin
Christie,
I just came to fetch this recipe as my girls like the sweet and sour chicken. Loved the fact it's not deeply fried.
Stacey
This was better than take out! I like how this recipe doesnβt call for deep frying and I was still able to get the chicken crispy. YUM!
christieathome
Amazing! Thanks for making my recipe! Glad you enjoyed it! βΊοΈ
Jeffrey Beaumont
Fantastic recipe, this is now one of my very favorite Chinese recipes. I used green onions for the garnish, and Avacado oil to fry the chicke. Also sprinkled some sesame seeds to serve. Served with plain old whit rice and the meal was wonderful, thank you, Jeff
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Jeff! So glad it has become one of your favorite Chinese recipes. This makes me very happy to read. Have a lovely day!
Quinn
made this recipe tonight as it wasnt a deep fried version, turned out great, and the sauce wasnt overly sweet like takeout
christieathome
Thanks for making my recipe, Quinn π Happy that I could share a "healthier" version of this classic dish and glad it turned out great!
Asia Scott
Made this last night and made no changes at except Red Pepper Flakes. We like Spicy. It was so good now going through you recipes to see what I am cooking tonight.
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe! I am so happy that you enjoyed it, Asia! Yes, feel free to add some red pepper flakes to take it up a notch π I hope you enjoy my other recipes!
Shabnam
It was great had people over they all loved it!
christieathome
Awesome! Thanks for making my recipe, Shabnam!
Tyler
OMG this is it! I made this last night. After reading the reviews and looking over the recipe and watching the video a thousand times, I was confident enough to make two batches and I am so happy I did! I'm making this again this weekend with your wontons! I can't wait. Thank you so much for amazing Chinese dishes I can make from home instead of spending money on takeout that I don't even like! This is also my first review I've ever left it was just so good and easy to make.
Christie Lai
Awww wow thank you so much for making my recipe and for such a kind first review, Tyler! I am so thrilled to hear that everything worked out and you built up the confidence to cook this dish. Happy that I can share these recipes so you can save some money!
Tyler Marsh
Just a question, could you use coconut oil instead of canola oil or avocado oil? I have it on hand and was wondering if it would work!
Christie Lai
Unfortunately I wouldn't recommend coconut oil for most of my recipes as it has a low smoke point and a heavy scent. But any neutral tasting oil like sunflower oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, etc. will work!