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Sweet and Sour Chicken

⏱ ~125 min (est.)InvolvedChickenChinese
Sweet and Sour Chicken

A weeknight-friendly Chinese chicken built around chicken thighs, pineapple chunks and pineapple juice — roughly 125 minutes start to finish, and rated involved to make. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 19 steps.

You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and pan. At involved difficulty across 19 steps, it's worth setting aside proper time for.

What you'll need

Servings4

Shopping list (4)

Pantry staples (you likely have these)

🔁 Unit converter
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How to make it

  1. Coat the chicken with egg white:
  2. In a bowl, combine the chicken with the egg white, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and cornstarch. Stir to coat the chicken evenly. Let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
  3. Make the sweet and sour sauce:
  4. Whisk together the pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and brown sugar.
  5. Stir-fry the chicken over high heat:
  6. Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates. Pour in 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat. It's important that the pan is very hot.
  7. Add the chicken and spread the pieces out in one layer. Let the chicken fry untouched for 1 minute, until the bottoms are browned.
  8. Flip and fry the other side for 1 minute. The chicken should still be pinkish in the middle. Dish out the chicken onto a clean plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.
  9. Stir-fry the bell pepper and ginger:
  10. Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. Let the oil heat up before adding the bell pepper chunks and ginger. Fry for 1 minute.
  11. Add the pineapple, sauce, and then, the chicken:
  12. Add the pineapple chunks and the sweet and sour sauce. Turn up the heat to high. When the sauce is simmering, add the chicken pieces back in.
  13. Let simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
  14. Timing depends on how thick you've cut your chicken.
  15. The best way to tell if the chicken is done is to take a piece out and cut into it.
  16. If it's pink, add another minute to the cooking.
  17. Adjust the seasoning and serve:
  18. Taste the sauce and add more brown sugar or vinegar to suit your tastes, if you’d like.
  19. Serve hot with steamed white or brown rice.

You'll use: Frying pan / skillet · Pan · Saucepan · Whisk · Wok

Watch how it's made

Hosted on YouTube — pressing play loads content from YouTube.

Ingredient substitutions

Cornstarch
2 tbsp flour per 1 tbsp cornstarch (as thickener)
Brown Sugar
white sugar + 1 tbsp molasses per cup

What to serve with Sweet and Sour Chicken

Tips & common questions

How long does Sweet and Sour Chicken take to make?

About 125 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 19 steps and 13 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.

What can I use instead of cornstarch?

Try 2 tbsp flour per 1 tbsp cornstarch (as thickener). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.

Can I scale this recipe up or down?

Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.

How should I store leftovers?

Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.

Recipe data for Sweet and Sour Chicken via TheMealDB (open database). ▶ Video. Original source. Consomee adds the scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.