How to Make Your Favorite Takeout Item at Home — Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe was taken from Tasty.

Sweet and sour chicken is a typical item you’d see on any Chinese restaurant menu, but the sugary, vinegary version we eat in America is nothing like the traditional meal, which originates from East and Southeast Asia. 

Sweet and sour was not always served as a dish. It began as a sauce served on the side of fish or meat in the Chinese province of Henan, and to this day, is still served as a sauce.

But there are still some dishes that incorporate the sauce within. 

Some dishes in China, that come from this sauce, are sweet and sour pork and sweet and sour lobster balls.

There’s even a cold medley that is created with this sauce as well, known as sweet and sour fruit and vegetable. 

In China, the sauce is typically made by combining sugar or honey with rice vinegar or soy sauce to create a sweet and sour mixture.

However, the Western version sprouted from a recipe by a chef from Hong Kong known as Leung King. 

His recipe consisted of: white rice vinegar; salt; Chinese brown candy; ketchup; Worcestershire sauce and dark soy sauce, which is quite similar to the recipe I followed. 

When you order from your typical takeout restaurant, there are many places that still serve sweet and sour sauce on the side, but today, I’m going to be incorporating the sauce within. 

So, if you want to learn how to make some sweet and sour chicken, check out the recipe below! 

Prep:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. 
2. Coat with cornstarch, dip in beaten egg.
3. Fry until golden, crispy and cooked through. Set aside. Dab with a paper towel if greasy.
4. Chop bell pepper. Set aside.

How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken:

1. In a large pan, heat oil and fry garlic until fragrant.
2. Add the bell pepper, cider vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup and sugar. Bring to a boil.
3. When the sauce has thickened, add the fried chicken. Toss to coat.
4. Garnish with chopped scallions. Serve with rice.

Ingredients: 

CHICKEN

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 2 eggs, beaten
• oil, to fry

SAUCE

• 1 tablespoon oil
• ½ tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• ¾ cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ¼ cup ketchup
• ½ cup sugar

GARNISH

• scallion, chopped
• sesame seed