Sweet and Sour Chicken

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: North American

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 30

Servings: servings

Calories: 586kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

A really great Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe has two parts. Firstly, the chicken must be fried with a light and crispy batter. Secondly, the sauce must be both sweet and sour, but also thick and glossy. With this easy, Asian-inspired, do-it-yourself recipe, you won't need to order Chinese delivery again!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup pineapple juice
3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Slurry Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
oil for frying

Instructions

Measure all of the sauce ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together and set aside.
Measure the slurry ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together. Set aside.
Pour the oil into a heavy bottomed pot such as a Dutch Oven. You will want about four inches of oil in your pot. Turn on the heat and bring the oil to 300-315 degrees. If in doubt, use a kitchen thermometer!
Set a baking sheet with a wire cooling rack on it next to the pot. You will place the fried chicken on the wire rack in a single layer. This will allow air to flow around the fried chicken, allow the excess grease to drip off, and keep the batter crispy and crunchy.
Using tongs, lower the chicken into the oil one piece at a time. Don’t overcrowd the pot. I tend to fry them off about a dozen pieces at a time. The chicken fries really quickly; it only needs about 5-6 minutes.
Once all of the chicken is fried, increase the heat of the oil to 350 degrees. Carefully place all of the chicken back into the oil. This is what I refer to as the second fry and it will add further crisp to your chicken and it only needs another 3-4 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain well.
Next, transfer the bowl of sauce and the bell peppers to a skillet and over medium-high heat, continuously whisk the sauce until it starts to boil.
Reduce the heat to medium and mix the slurry by combining the cornstarch with the water. Pour this into the sauce while whisking. The sauce will immediately thicken. Continue to stir until all of the sauce is the same consistency.
Finally, add the fried chicken and toss it with the sauce until each piece is generously and completely covered.
Serve immediately with sesame seeds as a garnish.

Nutrition