Easy Sweet And Sour Chicken
Try this homemade easy sweet and sour chicken the next time you’re in the mood for Chinese takeout. This recipe is quick and tastes just like the kind you’d order in but for much less cost!
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We love Chinese takeout.
What we don’t love?
How much it costs to feed the 6 of us a takeout meal especially given that we have 4 very hungry boys.
5 counting my husband.
Honestly, they’d eat me out of house and home.
So I look for cost cutting solutions whenever possible like making my own takeout inspired meals to feed all of us for a fraction of the cost.
This easy sweet and sour chicken is one of our favorites when the boys and I want Chinese.
With its lightly breaded chicken tossed in a tangy sweet sauce, it tastes exactly like the dish we order when we grab Chinese so we never feel like we are missing out.
Plus it’s quick and easy to make!
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need:
- Flour– Self rising
- Oil– Canola or another light colored, mild oil. You’ll need some for the batter and more for frying.
- Egg– For breading the chicken
- Seasoning– Salt and white pepper.
- Cornstarch– For the batter
- Water
- Chicken– Chicken breast cut into roughly 1″ pieces.
- Sweet and sour sauce– While you can use store bought sweet and sour sauce, I highly recommend this homemade sweet and sour sauce recipe
How to Make
Making sweet and sour chicken at home is pretty easy!
To do it, start by making the batter and whisking the flour, canola oil, egg, salt, and pepper together in a large mixing bowl.
Then, whisk the cornstarch and water together in a separate mixing bowl until is evenly combined and lump free.
Slowly pour the cornstarch slurry into the larger mixing bowl, whisking it with the other ingredients until a thick batter forms.
Then, stir the chicken pieces into the batter until they are all well coated.
Set the battered chicken aside.
Then heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet or Dutch oven to 360°.
When the oil comes to temperature, carefully add the chicken and frying it until golden brown and cooked through.
Once the chicken is cooked through, use a skimmer spoon to transfer the fried chicken pieces to waiting paper towels to drain off excess grease.
Toss the chicken with sweet and sour sauce, to taste.
Serve warm over steamed rice and enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
If you are anticipating leftovers, don’t sauce all of the chicken.
Sauced chicken that’s stored will quickly turn soggy.
Store leftover unsauced sweet and sour chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and store the sauce in a separate container in the fridge.
Reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
What is the difference between General Tso’s chicken and sweet and sour chicken?
General Tso’s chicken and sweet and sour chicken are both popular Chinese takeout dishes featuring fried chicken pieces with a distinct sauce.
Sweet and sour sauce often is served on the side while General Tso’s chicken is tossed with the sauce.
General Tso’s sauce is spicier while sweet and sour sauce is tangy and sweet without heat.
Tips and Tricks
- For best results don’t overcrowd the pan when frying the chicken, work in batches if necessary.
- We always serve this with steamed white rice, and enjoy garnishing it with cilantro, sliced green onions, and sesame seeds.
- For a more filling dish you can add bell peppers, white onion, pineapple chunks, and even matchstick carrots.
Other Takeout Recipes
Easy sweet and sour chicken is one of our favorite ways to satisfy a takeout craving at home.
Make it and enjoy!
Looking for other Chinese takeout recipes?
Try these:
- Singapore Rice Noodle
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Honey Shrimp With Candied Walnuts
- Black Pepper Chicken
- Chinese Orange Chicken
If you’ve tried this EASY SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups self rising flour
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 4 chicken breasts cut into 1" chunks
- 1 quart canola oil for frying
- sweet and sour sauce to taste
Instructions
- Add the flour, canola oil, egg, salt, and pepper to a large mixing bowl then whisk together.2 1/4 cups self rising flour, 2 tbsp canola oil, 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- Add corn starch and water to a small mixing bowl, whisking together until evenly combined with no lumps. Slowly pour this mixture into the larger mixing bowl, whisking until a thick batter comes together.2 tbsp cornstarch, 1 1/2 cups water
- Add the chicken chunks to the batter and stir until it's all well coated. Set aside.4 chicken breasts
- Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet or Dutch oven to 360°. Carefully add the chicken, frying it until golden brown and cooked through- roughly 5-7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon carefully transfer the fried chicken pieces to waiting paper towels to drain off excess grease.1 quart canola oil
- Toss with sweet and sour sauce, to taste, then serve warm and enjoy.sweet and sour sauce
Notes
- For best results don't overcrowd the pan when frying the chicken, work in batches if necessary.
- We always serve this with steamed white rice, and enjoy garnishing it with cilantro, sliced green onions, and sesame seeds.
- For a more filling dish you can add bell peppers, white onion, pineapple chunks, and even matchstick carrots.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details. As always, all opinions are my own.
