This Sweet and Sour Chicken has been a reader favourite for years.
Crispy yet juicy chicken coated in a perfectly balanced tangy sauce with just the right sweetness. Want the secret to an irresistible crispy coating and a sauce everyone will ask for seconds of? Here’s my homemade crispy sweet and sour chicken with a sweet and tangy sauce made from store cupboard ingredients.
“The best sweet and sour, always a winner in my house, super tasty” – Jacqui Reeves
Table of Contents
- 🧾 Ingredients
- 👩🍳 How to make sweet & sour chicken
- Pro Tip
- Can bake the chicken instead of frying it?
- 🥡 More takeaway inspired recipes
- 🍽️ What to serve it with
- 📺 Watch how to make it
- Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
🧾 Ingredients
These ingredients deliver the classic sweet, tangy and slightly sour flavour of a timeless sweet and sour chicken.
The sauce combines a few surprising pantry staples:
- Ketchup — provides tanginess, colour and body.
- Malt vinegar — adds the right sharp, slightly malty sour note.
- Brown sugar — balances acidity with rounded sweetness.
- Pineapple chunks in juice — canned pineapple and its juice give sweetness, texture and that fruit-forward tang.
This version is Hong Kong style: bite-sized chicken pieces are dredged in cornflour, egg and seasoned flour, fried until crisp, then tossed in the sauce for a glossy finish.
👩🍳 How to make sweet & sour chicken
Full recipe and exact quantities are in the recipe card below.
The Crispy Chicken
Coat the chicken first in cornflour (cornstarch), then dip in beaten egg, and finally in seasoned plain flour. Fry in hot oil until golden and crisp. If your pan is small, cook in two batches to keep the oil temperature steady. Remove the cooked chicken and drain briefly on kitchen paper.
Pro Tip
Check that the chicken is fully cooked before serving:
Slice one of the larger pieces open. If the meat is white with no pink in the centre, it’s done.
Sweet & Sour Sauce
Sauté onions and bell peppers briefly until just softened, then add garlic and ginger for a minute. Stir in ketchup, malt vinegar, dark brown sugar and canned pineapple with its juice. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3–5 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. It will thicken more once you add the chicken back in.
Return the crispy chicken to the pan and toss gently in the sauce so every piece is coated. Serve immediately for best texture and flavour.
Remove from the heat, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice.
I love takeaway versions, but a couple of common issues are:
- The sauce can be unnaturally bright orange. My version is redder from ketchup and darker thanks to brown sugar for a more natural colour.
- The coating on some takeaways can be crunchy but bland. I season the flour mix with salt, pepper, garlic salt and paprika so the coating adds flavour as well as texture.
Can bake the chicken instead of frying it?
Yes. If you prefer a lighter method, you can bake the coated chicken—there’s also a baked sweet and sour chicken variation that works well.
🥡 More takeaway inspired recipes
Asian
Sticky Chinese Pork Belly
Asian
Easy Homemade Crispy Duck
Asian
Crispy Sesame Chicken with a Sticky Asian Sauce
Quick & Easy
Honey Garlic Chicken
Asian
Crispy Chilli Beef
Asian
Orange Chicken Recipe
🍽️ What to serve it with
- Boiled rice — a simple, neutral base.
- Egg fried rice — my personal favourite alongside sweet & sour.
- Special fried rice — for a more substantial side.
- Stir-fried noodles with beansprouts for a noodle accompaniment.
- Salt & pepper chips are great if you want something to dunk in the sauce.
- Asian-style ribs make a hearty extra if serving a crowd.
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📺 Watch how to make it
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Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 90 g (3/4 cup) plain flour (all-purpose)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 3 skinless chicken breast fillets, chopped into bite-size chunks
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped into large chunks
- 1 red pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 green pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 150 ml (2/3 cup) tomato ketchup
- 2 tbsp malt vinegar
- 6 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar
- 475 g (17 oz) canned pineapple chunks in juice
To Serve:
- Egg fried rice or boiled rice
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan until very hot.
- While the oil heats, put the beaten eggs in one shallow bowl and the cornflour in another. Mix the flour, salt, pepper, garlic salt and paprika in a third shallow bowl.
- Dredge the chicken in cornflour, dip in egg so it’s fully coated, then dredge in the seasoned flour. Repeat until all chicken is coated.
- Add the coated chicken to the wok and cook on high for 6–7 minutes, turning occasionally, until well browned. Cook in two batches if necessary. Check the chicken is cooked and remove to a bowl lined with kitchen towels.
- For the sauce: heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium–high heat. Add onions and peppers and cook about 3 minutes until the onions turn translucent.
- Add garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
- Stir in ketchup, malt vinegar, dark brown sugar and canned pineapple with its juice. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 3–5 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Transfer the crispy chicken to the pan, toss gently to coat in the sauce.
- Serve with boiled or egg fried rice and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
Notes
Check the chicken is cooked
Slice open a larger piece to ensure there’s no pink in the middle. The meat should be white throughout.
Nutritional information is approximate and per serving (without rice).
Nutrition
Carbohydrates: 78 g |
Protein: 26 g |
Fat: 26 g |
Saturated Fat: 18 g |
Cholesterol: 136 mg |
Sodium: 1086 mg |
Fiber: 4 g |
Sugar: 47 g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
This recipe was first published in September 2019 and updated in September 2024 with extra FAQs and housekeeping.
Some links in the original post may be affiliate links, which can provide a small commission at no extra cost to you. Nutrition figures are approximate and will vary depending on ingredients and portions.