I have always loved sweet and sour chicken. When I was little, I used to eat this on vacations to New York, at a local mall in Middletown, New York. I wanted to recreate this taste, but without having to use tomato ketchup, as that is usually a little too processed for me (and also, I don’t always have it in my pantry). The result is this recipe.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts (cubed)
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Sunflower oil (or other cooking oil with a high smoking point)
- White onion
- Bell peppers (red and green)
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Sugar
- Tomato paste
- Soy sauce
- Black vinegar
- Pineapple chunks (Optional)
- Pineapple juice (extra sweet) or lemon juice (extra sour) (Optional)
- Serve with white rice
Cooking plan
- Start by cubing your chicken breasts, seasoning them generously with salt and pepper. Afterwards, coat with cornstarch.
- Add a large amount of sunflower oil to a pan and fry your chicken until golden brown.
- In the meantime, prepare the sauce by adding the following: soy sauce, black vinegar and tomato sauce in a 3:3:2 tbsp ratio. Also add about 2-3 cloves of garlic and some grated ginger to taste. Add your lemon/pineapple juice if you want. Finally, add sugar to taste.
- Remove your chicken from the pan and leave them to rest on some paper towels to catch off excess oil. Store most of the oil in a container, and leave a small amount to cook your vegetables.
- Cut your bell peppers and white onion into large chunks and stir-fry them on medium-high heat. After a little while, also add your optional pineapple chunks for a more traditional recipe.
- After your onion has become nice and brown on the edges, add in your sauce and stir until thickened.
- Add your chicken at the end in order to keep them crispy for longer. Serve with white rice.
ENJOY!