• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Starters & Snacks
    • Dinner
    • Side Dish
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
  • Witchcraft
    • Kitchen Magick
  • Podcast
  • Work With Me
  • Subscribe

Awesome on 20 logo

menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Dinner
    • Side Dish
    • Starters & Snacks
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
  • Kitchen Magick
  • Witchcraft
  • Podcast
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Dinner » Sweet & Sour Chicken

    February 24, 2020 Chicken & Turkey

    Sweet & Sour Chicken

    This Sweet & Sour Chicken is exactly what I remember from home. Lightly crispy chicken breast is coated in a sticky sweet and sour sauce. Serve it with sticky rice and skip the take out. You'll love it.

    Sweet & Sour Chicken | How to Be Awesome on $20 a Day

    I know I talk a lot about the differences between America and Britain, but friends, they never stop. Yes, I realize that American Chinese food is nothing like the food in China. I lived in Taiwan for two years, so I've seen for myself. What I wasn't prepared for was how different Chinese food would be in the UK. They have a lot the same dishes we have in America, but the way it's prepared is so weird.

    When I order Sweet & Sour Chicken from a Chinese takeaway, what I expect to get is bite-size pieces of chicken coated in egg and corn starch so it has a thin crispy coating on the outside. Then, it should be liberally tossed in the sauce so that it's well coated but not swimming in sauce. That's how I like it.

    When I order Sweet & Sour Chicken from a Chinese place in the UK, I either get pieces of plain, possibly boiled chicken or little bits of chicken encased in a thick pancake-like batter served as big balls. Then there's like a lake of sauce. I mean, I really like sweet and sour sauce, but what am I supposed to do with that? Swim in it? I can't get into it.

    Sweet & Sour Chicken | How to Be Awesome on $20 a Day

    Thankfully I found this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker that reminds me exactly of Sweet & Sour Chicken from home. When I first made it, I didn't read through the entire recipe, which obviously you should never do. I just looked at the ingredients list, thought yeah, that looks good. Turns out it takes over an hour to make, but the wait is totally worth it.

    How do I make Sweet & Sour Chicken?

    After we chop and season our chicken (we like chicken breast, but you do what you want), we're gonna coat it in corn starch, then dip it in beaten egg before pan frying it in a little oil just to brown the outside. Don't worry if it's cooked all the way through at this point because like I said, it's going in the oven for an hour. At this point you might be thinking, if I cook this for an hour in the oven after frying it, won't it be horribly dry? I thought that, too. The answer is no, it's perfect.

    Before it goes in the oven, we make up our sauce with sugar. There's lots of it. Be prepared. The word sweet is in the title. Then we add ketchup, rice vinegar (apple cider vinegar would also work, or a combination if you're low on rice vinegar like I was the first time) soy sauce, and some garlic powder. Stir that all together, pour it over the chicken before it goes in the oven, and toss the chicken in the sauce ever 15 minutes as it bakes to coat it in the sauce.

    Sweet & Sour Chicken | How to Be Awesome on $20 a Day

    You can also add some veggies, either on the side or right in with the dish. I used red bell pepper and added it to the baking dish along with my chicken pieces. Then I topped it with some sliced green onions for a little hit of something fresh and green at the end. You could use onion, pineapple, whatever you love. And of course, serve it over a bed of sticky white or brown rice. I think you should eat it with chopsticks, but I'm a weirdo.

    Sweet & Sour Chicken | How to Be Awesome on $20 a Day

    We all like a bit of comfort, and to me, this Sweet & Sour Chicken takes me back to my childhood, where I was an even more picky eater than I am now. Make your own take out, so you can get it exactly the way you like. It's gonna be awesome.

    Sweet & Sour Chicken
    Print

    Sweet & Sour Chicken

    Recipe by ReneeCourse: DinnerCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy
    Servings

    2

    servings
    Prep time

    20

    minutes
    Cooking time

    1

    hour 

    5

    minutes

    Sweet & Sour Chicken features lightly crispy chicken coated in a sweet and tangy sauce served rice.

    Ingredients

    • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks

    • Salt and pepper to taste

    • ½ cup corn starch

    • 1 egg, beaten

    • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

    • ¾ cup caster or granulated sugar

    • ¼ cup ketchup

    • ½ cup rice vinegar

    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

    • 1 bell pepper, chopped

    • 2 green onions, sliced

    Directions

    • Preheat your oven to 325 F (160 C) and dig out a small casserole or pie dish for later.
    • Once your chicken is all chopped up, add it to a bowl, season it with salt and pepper, then sprinkle over the corn starch. Toss the chicken and corn starch together until eveyr piece is thinly coated. I use my hands for this. I can't think of a better tool.
    • Put a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Once your pan is hot, grab a handful of chicken, toss it in the beaten egg to coat, let any excess egg drip between your fingers, and add it to the pan. Work quickly to get all of your chicken coated in the egg and into the pan so that the first pieces don't burn. You should have just enough egg to coat your chicken.
    • Toss your egg coated chicken in the hot pan for a few minutes until it's browned on all sides. It doesn't need to be cooked through. When the chicken is cooked, transfer it to your waiting casserole dish in a single layer. Add your chopped bell pepper to the casserole as well.
    • To make the sauce, simply add the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic powder to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the sauce over the chicken and bell pepper and give everything a little stirr to coat it all in the sauce.
    • Bake your chicken and sauce in the oven for an hour. Pull it out every 15 minutes to give it a toss to make sure the chicken is coated in the sauce.
    • While the chicken is baking, cook up some rice.
    • To serve, add some rice to each bowl, spoon over plenty of chicken and bell pepper, and a little extra sauce. Use scissors snip some green onion over the top. Serve hot.

    Notes

    • If you're wanting to feed another person, this amount of sauce could probably handle another chicken breast. You might need a second egg .
    • You can cut back on the sugar by a few tablespoons if you really need to. Any more than that and I won't vouch for the results. The first word is sweet, so just lean into it.

    Looking for more chicken dinner ideas? Try this Teriyaki Chicken.

    More Dinner

    • Mini Cheddar Meatloaves with red sauce
      Mini Cheddar Meatloaves
    • Fusilli with Sausage and tomato sauce
      Fusilli with Sausage
    • Butternut Squash Baked Risotto plated and in casserole
      Butternut Squash Baked Risotto
    • Crispy Chicken Burger on a seeded bun
      Crispy Chicken Burger

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    I’m Renee, the creator behind Awesome on 20. I’m a food blogger, a podcaster, and a witch who loves junk food. I share easy comfort food recipes and tips for creating a more magical and awesome life. 

    More about me →

    Become an awesome Patreon supporter

    Become a Patron!

    Popular

    • Witchcraft Spells for Beginners - Protection
    • Recipes to Celebrate Mabon
    • 7 Types of Witchcraft
    • Herbs in Witchcraft - Bay Leaf

    Awesome summer recipes

    • Lavender Cake with lavender buds and icing
      Lavender Cake
    • Two bowls of Orzo Pasta with Bacon & Peas
      Orzo Pasta with Bacon and Peas
    • Sour Cream Scones with jam and cream
      Sour Cream Scones
    • Blackcurrant & Lemon Cocktail with sliced lemon
      Blackcurrant & Lemon Cocktail + Blackcurrant Magick

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter & Membership

    • Sign up for emails and updates
    • Join us on Patreon
    • Join the Moon Magic Mastermind

    Contact

    • Contact
    • VA Services
    • Work with Me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Brunch Pro on the Brunch Pro Theme