- Prep time20 mins
- Cook time20 mins
- Servings4
- DifficultyMedium
- CategoryChinese
The takeout classic done properly: chicken fried twice for a crust that stays crisp under sauce, and a sauce balanced on three points — sweet, sour, savory — with nothing overpowering the others. The trick professionals use is tossing the chicken with the sauce at the very last second, off the heat, so the coating crackles instead of going soggy.
Ingredients
- 600 g (1.3 lb) chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1/2 cup (60 g) cornstarch
- 1/4 cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp white pepper
- Oil, for deep frying
- For the sauce: 1/3 cup (80 ml) ketchup, 1/4 cup (60 ml) rice vinegar, 3 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
- 1 bell pepper (red), 1 bell pepper (green), cut into chunks
- 1 onion, cut into chunks
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 1 tsp sesame seeds and sliced spring onions, to serve
Method
- Toss the chicken with salt, white pepper and the beaten egg, then dredge in the mixed cornstarch and flour, pressing to coat.
- Heat oil to 175 C (350 F). Fry the chicken in batches 4 to 5 minutes until golden. Drain, then fry a second time for 2 minutes for extra crunch.
- Stir-fry the peppers and onion in a wok with 1 tbsp oil for 2 minutes — they should stay crisp.
- Add the ketchup, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce; simmer 2 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook until the sauce turns glossy and thick.
- Add the pineapple, then the crispy chicken. Toss off the heat just until coated.
- Serve immediately over rice, scattered with sesame seeds and spring onions.
Tips for success
- Double-frying is what keeps the crust shattering under sauce.
- Toss the chicken with sauce off the heat and serve at once — every minute in sauce softens the crust.
- Balance the sauce before the chicken goes in: it should make you pucker slightly, then the sweetness follows.
Watch video tutorial
Prefer to watch it being made? This from Spice Eats walkthrough covers the same sweet and sour chicken step by step — the spoken narration doubles as an audio tutorial.