After years of perfecting Chinese takeout favorites at home, I’ve discovered that making restaurant-quality sweet and sour chicken isn’t just possible—it’s surprisingly simple. The secret lies in double-frying the chicken for ultimate crispiness and using fresh citrus for an authentic sauce that puts bottled versions to shame.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Table of Contents
What makes Sweet and Sour Chicken so good?
This isn’t your ordinary takeout replica. Here’s why this version stands out:
- Restaurant-quality results at home
- Double-frying technique creates extra-crispy coating
- Uses fresh fruit for authentic flavor
- No MSG or artificial ingredients
- Customizable spice levels
- More economical than takeout
- Perfect sauce-to-chicken ratio
Why you should try this recipe
Don’t be intimidated to try making restaurant-style Chinese food from scratch. You can do it; your everyday grocery store should have everything you need for this recipe. The basics are chicken, cornstarch, flour, white pepper, oranges, lemons, ketchup, and some rice-cooking wine or dry sherry. When you prepare this at home, you can save money, simply prepare some fluffy white rice, and you will have a complete meal.Â
I know you won’t forget the number of your local Chinese take-out restaurant, but now you can follow my recipe and make a delicious CopyKat sweet and sour chicken right in your kitchen.Â
Perfect For…
Want to know when you can serve this dish? We have some ideas for you!
- Family dinners
- Chinese New Year
- Make-ahead meals
- Weekend cooking
- Party food
- Date night in
Benefits of cooking sweet n sour chicken at home
One of the benefits of making restaurant-style recipes from scratch is knowing exactly what’s in your food. You can be sure that the ingredients are precisely how you like them in this recipe.
For instance, if you try to eat as much organic food as possible, you can use all-organic ingredients, including free-range chicken that hasn’t been dosed with antibiotics. And, if you make Chinese food at home, it will not contain any MSG.
Sweet and sour sauce – Homemade vs Store-Bought
You could buy ready-made sweet and sour sauce in a jar, but this homemade recipe tastes much better. This sweet and sour sauce is made with real fruit, which gives it a depth of flavor that you’ll love.
Also, by making your own sweet and sour sauce, you can eliminate the artificial coloring usually found in a store-bought product. After all, not everyone wants to eat food containing dyes. If you try this recipe once, this will be the on you grab the next time you want sweet and sour chicken. The sauce is an easy recipe, so you can make just the sauce if you like. This way you never have to grab extra packages of sauce, when you can make it at home, you always have extra sauce.
What is Chinese sweet and sour chicken made of?
This dish is filled with rich and flavorful ingredients. Orange and lemon give it a fruity aspect, vinegar and ketchup provide tang, garlic and white pepper give earthy flavor, and chicken is the star of the dish.
Homemade sweet and sour sauce ingredients
- Orange
- Lemon
- Fresh ginger
- Sugar
- White vinegar
- Ketchup
- Red food coloring (optional)
- Cornstarch
- Water
Chinese style fried chicken ingredients
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Eggs
- Ground white pepper
- Granulated garlic
- Salt
- Rice cooking wine
- Cornstarch
- Self-rising flour
- Ground white pepper
- Granulated garlic
- Water
- Vegetable oil
See the printable recipe card below to get the exact amounts.
How to make sweet and sour chicken
There are two components to this recipe; the sauce and the chicken. You will first make the sauce and then the chicken. You’ll serve the chicken with the sauce either on the side or poured over it.
How to make sweet and sour sauce
- Slice the orange, lemon, and ginger and place the slices in a medium pot with water. Bring it a boil and then simmer it for 30 minutes.
- Drain the water through a strainer into a large bowl. Press the fruit and ginger to release the juices into the water. Place the water back into the pot over medium heat. Add sugar, vinegar, ketchup, and food coloring. Whisk until well blended.
- Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Slowly stream the liquid into the sauce, stirring constantly. When the sauce thickens, remove it from the heat and cool to room temperature.
How to make Chinese style fried chicken
- Use a fork to whip an egg in a medium-sized bowl.
- Cut chicken into small bite-sized pieces and add the chicken to the beaten egg mixture. Add white pepper, granulated garlic, salt, rice cooking wine, and cornstarch.
- Marinate the chicken for 15 minutes before continuing the recipe.
- Make the batter: In a medium bowl, combine self-rising flour, white pepper, granulated garlic, salt, water, egg, and vegetable oil. Stir until this batter has a uniform consistency.
- Add enough oil to a pot to be 4 inches deep. Heat oil to 350 degrees.
- Use a skewer to dip the pieces of chicken into the batter and the hot oil. Fry the chicken until it becomes light brown.
- Remove the chicken from the oil for a minute, and then place the chicken back in and fry it for the second time, but just an additional minute for the second time. Drain the chicken on a wire rack. Don’t drain the chicken on a paper towel, it will steam that way and make your chicken less crisp.
Serve the chicken with sweet and sour sauce.
Make Ahead Options:
- Prepare sauce up to 5 days ahead
- Make batter day of cooking
- Cut chicken in advance
What are some other uses for sweet & sour chicken batter?
This recipe can be slightly flexible – you don’t have to stick with chicken. If you like, you could swap the chicken out for pork. Everyone loves sweet and sour pork. If you have a little batter left over, you could easily slice up some onions and make onion rings – it’s up to you.
Top your sweet-and-sour chicken if you desireÂ
You can top your sweet and sour chicken with canned sweet pineapple chunks. Some people like to top theirs with chopped red or green bell pepper. You can keep it simple and slice some green scallions on top.Â
What goes well with sweet and sour chicken?
Sweet and sour chicken is delicious, but it can accompany several dishes to make it a complete meal. Here are a few suggestions for you.
- White rice
- Brown rice
- Fried rice
- Cream cheese wontons
- Chow mein
What else can you eat sweet and sour sauce with?
Sweet and sour sauce is one of those condiments that is perfect for so many dishes. Should you have some leftover, save it in an airtight container in your refrigerator, and you can use it for the following.
- Wontons
- Egg rolls
- Chicken nuggets
- Spring rolls
How to store sweet and sour chicken and sweet and sour sauce
Should you have leftovers, I recommend that you place the sauce and the cooked chicken in different containers. Don’t pour the sauce over the chicken and put it in the refrigerator because the breading will get soggy.
The sauce and the chicken will last in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
How to reheat sweet and sour chicken
I like to reheat the chicken in an air fryer or a convection oven. I will reheat it for 7 to 8 minutes at 350 degrees.
Heating the chicken in an air fryer really helps to crisp up like the first time. You can reheat it in the oven at 350 degrees, but it will take about 10 to 12 minutes.
Reheat the sauce on low heat on the stovetop until just warm.
Like Chinese restaurant recipes? Check out these favorites
- Chinese Seafood Buffet Crab Casserole
- Salad Wonton Strips
- PF Changs Lettuce Wraps Recipe
- General Tso Chicken
- Honey Walnut Shrimp Recipe
- Hunan Chicken Recipe
- Spare Ribs Recipe Chinese Style
- Cheese Wonton
- Chinese Almond Cookie Recipe
- Chinese Doughnuts
Best Japanese Food Recipes
- Tempura Batter and Tempura Vegetables
- Shrimp Tempura
- Hibachi Steak
Be sure to check out more of my Chinese recipes and copycat restaurant chicken dishes.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 1 orange sliced
- 1 lemon sliced
- 2 or 3 slices fresh ginger
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- red food coloring optional
Chinese-Style Fried Chicken
- 2 eggs beaten, divided use
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper divided use
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic divided use
- 3/4 teaspoon salt divided use
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch divided use
- 2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
- 2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus more for frying
Instructions
- To make the sweet and sour sauce, place the orange, lemon, and ginger into a medium pot with 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Drain the water through a sieve into another pot, pressing the fruit into the sieve to release all the water and juice. Discard the solids.
- Add the sugar, vinegar, and ketchup to the pot with the water and juice and whisk until well blended. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
- Combine the cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Slowly pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and store any unused sauce in an airtight container.
- To make the fried chicken, place the chicken in a medium bowl along with 1 egg, 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and the rice cooking wine. Mix well. Allow the mixture to marinate for about 15 minutes.
- In another medium-sized bowl, combine the self-rising flour, 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of granulated garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 egg, and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and stir until the batter has a uniform texture.
- Add the vegetable oil to a pot until it reaches a depth of 4 inches. Heat the oil to 350°F.
- Batter the chicken by taking a piece from the marinade and using a skewer to dip it into the batter.
- Carefully lay the battered chicken into the oil and fry until lightly golden brown. Remove the chicken from the oil for about 1 minute. Return the chicken to the oil and fry for an additional minute to make it extra crispy.
- Drain the chicken on a wire rack and serve with sweet and sour sauce.
Video
Notes
Pro Tips for Success
- Double-fry for maximum crispiness
- Drain on wire rack, not paper towels
- Keep oil at consistent temperature
- Marinate chicken fully
- Make sauce ahead for better flavor
- Use fresh citrus for best taste
Could you air fry the chicken? I don’t fry anything in oil, never had. But the air fryer is a workhorse in my kitchen. When something calls for deep frying, like General Tso’s, I just stir fry it without the batter. Just as tasty and it’s healthier too!
Love your recipes, thanks for taking the time to figure them out, and sharing them with us.
I would sautee the chicken like you mention you do General Tso’s. I think the batter would need more adjustments to get it to stay on the chicken, right now, as the recipe is written I believe it would slide off before you finished cooking it.
Great recipe! It’s my go to for Chinese food! I skip the sweet and sour sauce and go right to the battered chicken… that’s my favorite! Thanks