Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Oriental
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 servings
 
Ingredients
  • Chicken thigh – 500 gms, boneless & skinless, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • Light soy sauce – 1 tbsp
  • Garlic – 10 cloves, minced
  • White pepper powder – ½ tsp
  • Chinese five spice powder – ½ tsp
  • All-purpose flour – ½ cup
  • Onion – 2, medium, cut into wedges and scales separated
  • Red bell pepper – 1, small, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • Green bell pepper – 1, small, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • Spring onion/scallion – 4 stalks, chopped
  • Vegetable oil – ½ cup
For sweet & sour sauce:
  • Brown sugar – ¼ cup
  • Tomato ketchup – 2 tbsp
  • Light soy sauce – 1 tbsp
  • White vinegar – 3 tbsp
  • Pineapple juice – 200 ml (3/4 cup)
  • Chinese five spice – ¼ tsp
  • Cornstarch/ corn flour – 2 tsp
Instructions
  1. Take the chicken cubes in a bowl and add light soy sauce, minced garlic, white pepper powder & Chinese five spice powder to it. Give a good mix and let the chicken marinade for 30 minutes at room temperature.
  2. Next prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients listed under sweet & sour sauce except cornstarch in a small saucepan and heat it over medium flame. Let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes.
  3. Dissolve the cornstarch in ¼ cup of water and pour it to the simmering sauce. The sauce will thicken almost instantly. Remove the saucepan from heat and set it aside.
  4. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan. While the oil is being heated up, take the flour in a large bowl and drop the marinated chicken cubes into it. Toss the chicken cubes in the flour to coat each piece with flour on all sides.
  5. Next drop the chicken pieces into hot oil and fry them on medium flame for 3-4 minutes each side. Do not overcrowd the frying pan; fry them in batches if needed.
  6. Once the chicken cubes are browned on all sides, take them out and place on a plate lined with absorbent kitchen towel to soak excess oil.
  7. Once all the chicken cubes are fried, take out the excess oil from the frying pan retaining only couple of tablespoons of oil in the pan.
  8. Tip in the chopped onion and bell peppers. Fry them on high heat for 2-3 minutes. Don’t overcook the veggies; they should remain crunchy to complement the succulent chicken cubes.
  9. Next return the fried chicken cubes to the frying pan and drizzle the prepared sweet & sour sauce on top. Stir well to coat everything with the sauce. (If you want to have extra sauce to spoon over rice, add half a cup of water and bring it to boil.)
  10. Finally sprinkle the chopped spring onion on top and remove the frying pan from heat. Serve the sweet and sour chicken warm with rice or as a yummy appetizer. Enjoy!
Notes
No salt is added in this recipe as all the sauces are quite salty. I recommend to add salt at the very end after tasting only if it is not seasoned enough for your liking.
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://www.flavorquotient.com/2019/08/sweet-and-sour-chicken/