Sweet And Sour Chicken (Hong Kong Style)

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Crispy Sweet And Sour Chicken

Crispy chicken pieces coated in a delicious sweet and sour sauce, served with bell peppers and onions. This recipe is sweet, tangy, sour and it tastes incredibly good. Let’s get cooking…

This Hong Kong style sweet and sour chicken is one of my favourite Chinese takeaway meals! I know I say this about many of the Chinese recipes on my site, but this one is definitely in my top 5.

It’s a delicious combination of crispiness, tenderness and downright deliciousness. Plus, I’ve developed this recipe to be naturally vibrant and red without the need to add any red food colouring.

If you’re a huge fan of sweet and sour chicken, then this recipe is a must-try! It will impress anyone and leave you coming back for more (don’t say I didn’t warn you).

Why You’ll Like This Recipe

The Taste: One of the many reasons why I LOVE this recipe is because the chicken is succulently tender in the middle, and it’s perfectly coated in a tangy and sticky sweet and sour sauce.

It’s So Easy: There are only four major steps: batter and fry the chicken, cook the vegetables, simmer the sauce, then put it all together. In fact, it might surprise you at how simple it is, and it’s ready in just 30 minutes.

Quicker And Cheaper Than A Takeaway: It takes me only 30 minutes to make, I’m sure you’ll still be looking at the menu in this time. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper than the average takeaway and it will bring some excitement into your weekday meals.

Recipe Ingredients

Below is a list of ingredients I used to make this dish:

• Chicken: I used chicken breast cut into bite-sized chunks. You can buy pre-diced chicken breast at your local supermarket to save time (like me) or dice it yourself.
• Hong Kong Style Batter: To make the crispy batter, you’ll need cornflour and an egg. The result is a delicious golden-brown crispy coating on the outside and tender chicken on the inside.
• Seasonings: White pepper and salt are used to season the chicken.
• Vegetables: I used green and red bell peppers and an onion. I didn’t include pineapples as I’m not the biggest fan of them. But if you love them, add a couple in!
• Homemade Sweet & Sour Sauce: The chicken is coated in a delicious sweet & sour sauce. It’s very easy to make yourself, it’s simply a mixture of ketchup, vinegar, sugar and light soy sauce.

How To Make Hong Kong Style Sweet And Sour Chicken

Here’s a summary of how I make sweet and sour chicken. You can get the full recipe instructions on the recipe card below:

Step One:

I add salt and white pepper to diced chicken and mix it thoroughly until it’s evenly distributed. Then I whisk an egg and mix it into the chicken.

I pour cornflour (corn-starch) into a clean bowl or large plate and coat each piece of chicken in the cornflour, making sure all sides of the chicken are thoroughly coated.

Step Two:

Oil is heated in a wok on a medium to high heat. When the oil is hot, I place a couple of chicken pieces into the oil and fry it for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden, then I set it aside for later.

Whilst the chicken is frying, I like to mix the chicken around occasionally to avoid it sticking together. I usually add between 3 to 5 pieces at a time, but this depends on the size of wok I’m using.

After frying the chicken I make the sauce, in a mixing bowl I mix together ketchup, sugar, vinegar and light soy sauce. Then I set it aside for later use.

Step Three:

In a clean wok I add oil, chopped onions, red bell peppers and green bell peppers and stir-fry the vegetables for 2 minutes. If you like pineapples, then you can chuck a few in too!

Once the veggies have been stir-fried, I add the sweet and sour sauce mixture and mix it together for 30 seconds or until the sauce has thickened. After this, I add the crispy chicken pieces and mix everything together until it’s evenly distributed.

My Top Tips

Make sure the oil is hot enough before frying. To test this, I like to put a piece of batter or chicken into the oil. If it starts to sizzle instantly then it’s ready, if not, I leave it to heat up for longer.

Overfilling the pan or wok with too many pieces of chicken can result in the oil temperature dropping. This will result in soggy pieces of chicken, which we don’t want!

If you like a lot of sauce in your sweet and sour chicken, then you may want to double the sauce ingredients. FYI, following this recipe as it is will create a sauce ratio like in my pictures.

Swap The Veggies!

I used green bell peppers, an onion and red bell peppers. I think that these 3 veggies make a great base and they look so vibrant and add an explosion of colour.

However, if you want an exact match like what you’ll get in a Chinese takeaway, then I recommend adding pineapples too. I left them out of this recipe, but you can add them in if you like.

Alternatively, you can go wild and add in a range of different vegetables like green beans, carrots, shredded cabbage, mushrooms and broccoli.

How To Store

I think it’s best to eat the sweet and sour chicken freshly made whilst the texture is crispy, and the sauce is fresh. The crispy coating will soften overtime as it’s covered in a wet sauce, but you can keep leftovers for later.

I store leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days. When I’m ready to reheat it, I warm it in the microwave on a high heat and until it’s piping hot throughout.

How To Serve

A few of my go-to dishes have got to be char siu fried rice or Singapore fried rice, they just go so well together. I also like to have a side of tenderstem broccoli and salt and pepper chips. You should see my face when I’m eating all of this together!

You could also serve this dish with homemade noodles dishes like this king prawn chow mein, chicken chow mein and this chicken vermicelli recipe.

Sweet And Sour Chicken Hong Kong Style

Michelle

Here's how to make sweet and sour crispy chicken Hong Kong style with this easy fakeaway recipe. It's so easy to make and tastes so good.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4 People

Calories 351 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil & More For Frying
• 400 g Diced Chicken Breast
• 80 g Cornflour
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp White Pepper
• 1 Egg

Vegetables

• ½ Onion
• ½ Red Bell Pepper
• ½ Green Bell Pepper

Sweet And Sour Sauce

• 8 tbsp Ketchup (125g)
• 8 tbsp Sugar (40g)
• 8 tbsp Vinegar (40g)
• 1 tsp Light Soy Sauce

Instructions

 

• Add salt and white pepper to diced chicken and mix thoroughly until evenly distributed. Whisk an egg and mix it into the chicken.
  ½ tsp Salt, 1 tsp White Pepper, 1 Egg, 400 g Diced Chicken Breast
• Pour cornflour (corn-starch) into a bowl or large plate. Coat each piece of chicken in the cornflour (make sure all sides of the chicken are coated in cornflour).
  80 g Cornflour
• Heat oil in a wok or pan on a medium to high heat. When the oil is hot, place a couple of chicken pieces into the oil and fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden, then set aside for later.
  1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• In a mixing bowl mix together ketchup, sugar, vinegar and light soy sauce.
  8 tbsp Ketchup, 8 tbsp Sugar, 1 tsp Light Soy Sauce, 8 tbsp Vinegar
• In a clean wok or frying pan add oil, chopped onions, red bell peppers and green bell peppers. Stir-fry the vegetables for 2 minutes. If you like pineapples, then you can chuck a few in too!
  ½ Onion, ½ Red Bell Pepper, ½ Green Bell Pepper
• Add the sweet and sour sauce and mix for 30 seconds or until the sauce has thickened.
• Add the crispy chicken pieces to the stir-fried vegetables and sweet and sour sauce mixture and mix together until evenly distributed.

Video

Notes

When frying, mix the chicken around occasionally to avoid it sticking together. I usually add between 3 to 5 pieces at a time, but this depends on the size of your wok or pan.

If you like a lot of sauce in your sweet and sour chicken, then you may want to double the sauce ingredients.

Want To Bake The Chicken?

If you don’t want to fry the chicken, you could bake it in the oven. To do this, simply preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6) and bake the chicken in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is crispy on the outside and cooked throughout.

To get a crispy edge on all sides, turn the chicken pieces around halfway. Once cooked, proceed to fry the vegetables, add the sauce and then add the chicken pieces.

Nutrition

Calories: 351kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 24gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 792mgPotassium: 554mgFiber: 1gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 767IUVitamin C: 35mgCalcium: 26mgIron: 1mg

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