Do you love Sweet and Sour Chicken? I do. Growing up, I can remember when I first went to a Chinese restaurant. We were living in Pueblo, Colorado, and it was unbelievable.
Right away, I fell in love with Chinese food and thought that sweet and sour sauce should go on everything. While I outgrew that desire, I still enjoy sweet and sour chicken from time to time. You can visit your favorite local Chinese restaurant or make this delicious dish at home. I’ll show you how to cook the chicken just right and make the tangy sweet and sour sauce that is the perfect accompaniment.
Don’t be intimidated by Chinese Cooking
Don’t be intimidated to try making restaurant-style Chinese food from scratch. You can do it, and 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. I know you won’t forget the number of your local Chinese takeout restaurant, but now you can follow my recipe and make a delicious CopyKat sweet and sour chicken right in your own kitchen.
Don’t be intimidated by making restaurant-style Chinese food from scratch. You can do it. Your grocery store should have everything you need for this recipe. You will need chicken, cornstarch, flour, white pepper, oranges, lemons, ketchup, and some rice cooking wine or dry Sherry. So you can see this recipe is achievable at your everyday grocery store.
Benefits of Home Cooking
One of the benefits of making restaurant-style recipes from scratch is that you know exactly what’s in your food. In this recipe, you can be sure that the ingredients are exactly the way you like them. 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.
The Sweet and Sour Sauce
You could buy ready-made sweet and sour sauce in a jar, but I think 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.
Flexible Recipe
This recipe can be a little bit flexible – you don’t have to stick to chicken. If you like, you could swap the chicken out for pork. Heck, if you have a little batter left over, you could easily slice up some onions and make onion rings – it’s up to you.
Like Chinese Restaurant Recipes? Check out these favorites
Chinese Seafood Bake
Fried Wonton Strips
Chicken Lettuce Wraps like PF Changs
Take-out style General Tso Chicken
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients
- 5 cups water
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 2 or 3 slices fresh ginger
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1 cup ketchup
- Red food coloring if desired
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 eggs divided use
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch divided use
- 2 1/4 cups self rising flour
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
Sauce Directions
- Sweet and Sour Sauce Directions Wash the orange and the lemon well. Slice the fruit and sliced ginger and place into a medium pot along with 5 cups of water. Bring the pot to a boil, and then simmer for 30 minutes.
- Drain water with a sieve, press the fruit into the sieve, you want to get all of the water released. Place water into a pot and add 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup vinegar, and 1 cup ketchup mix until well blended with a whisk. Heat the sauce over medium-high heat. Combine 3 tablespoons cornstarch and three tablespoons water in a small bowl. Slowly stream the liquid into the sauce stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken.
- When the sauce thickens, remove from heat. Store unused sauce in an air tight container.
Chicken Directions
- In a medium-sized bowl add 1 egg. Scramble egg with a fork. Cut chicken into small bite-sized pieces. Add chicken to the beaten egg. Add 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons rice cooking wine, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Stir to combine. The batter will look a mess.
- Allow to marinate for about 15 minutes before continuing the recipe. To make the batter for the recipe in a medium sized bowl combine 2 1/4 cups self-rising flour, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 cups of water, 1 egg, and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Stir until this batter has a uniform texture. Add enough oil to a pot to cover the 4 bottom inches.
- Heat oil to 350 degrees. Batter chicken by taking a piece from the marinade and dipping into the batter with a skewer, and then carefully laying the chicken in the cooking oil. Fry until the chicken becomes a light brown. Remove chicken for about 1 minute, and then place chicken back in and fry for about an additional minute. Frying the chicken twice will make chicken extra crispy. Drain chicken on a wire wrack. Serve chicken with sweet and sour sauce.
JWelch says
I don’t really comment on things very often, but this recipe is… interesting enough that I thought I should. The chicken is great. One of the best Chinese American chicken recipes I’ve had. Five stars.
The sweet and sour sauce gets one star, which is not reflected in my review. It was gross. It tasted of bitter ketchup; nothing like what you get in restaurants. I understand a previous comment that wondered why it tasted like ketchup was the main ingredient. Yes, ketchup belongs in sweet and sour sauce. Not that much ketchup, though. The worst part was the bitter from the lemon and orange. And I mean BITTER. Were they supposed to be peeled? If so, that really should be specified. If not, then do yourself a favor and use the standard recipe that calls for pineapple juice in the place of boiled citrus.
Stephanie says
Thank you for your review. I am sorry the sauce turned out worse than awful for you. It sounds like the citrus peels cooked for too long and became bitter. I am very sorry about this. I will look at adjusting my instructions to make sure that doesn’t happen in the future. I am sure the ketchup ratio was adversely impacted by the bitterness of the citrus you experienced.
The intent was to leach out the flavorful oils of the orange and the lemon and have that give your sauce a little something extra. The something extra wasn’t a punch of bitterness.
G says
My kids and hubbs loved this recipe. I will be making it again.
Ally says
Absolutely delicious!
Scrappy says
My family loved this recipe.
DAZ says
HI FOLKS
As this is a Sweet & Sour Chicken recipe, why use water? Why not substitute it with Chicken Broth?
Stephanie says
I am certain this would work as well.
Dana says
What if I don’t have the self rising flour…I just have all purpose…what would I need to add?
Stephanie says
I would buy some self rising flour, or make some. I do find better results by buying it through. Here is a link to a recipe for self rising flour. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/149310/self-rising-flour/
Michael says
This was by far the best Sweet and Sour recipe I have ever tried. Saving some serious cash on take out.
Stephanie Manley says
I am glad you liked this recipe for Sweet and sour chicken!
Michael M says
I’m going to make this now using the exact ingredients and directions in the recipe. I wish all the ingredient amounts were specific like “2 or 3” slices of ginger, and “red food coloring”. Grams would be nice for the ginger and how many drops of food coloring. I’ll post results shortly!
Michael M says
Perfect. Follow this recipe exactly and everyone will think it was just delivered from your favorite restaurant. I am amazed. The sauce is perfect, too; don’t change anything!
Assistir Filmes Online says
I love your recipe but for some reason the lemon over powered the sause…
Filmes Portugal says
This looks so yummy. My husband’s favorite chinese meal!
Pam Beurman says
Alas, there are no good Chinese restaurants in Pueblo. Sloppers rule this abominable town.
billy clemons says
Where are, what are the vegetales. this is the first serrt snd sour chicken receipe that i have seen that does not include the peppers, onions. it is almonst like bacon and eggs without the bacon?????
Schwaggins says
Soooo add green peppers, pineapple and onions before you have yourself a little meltdown sunshine!
Saph says
best comment ever!
Mandy says
Our family loves this recipe cant thank you enough for posting for all to enjoy
bucetas says
Tasty dish with good nutritional sources
Bess says
The chicken came out great!! I didn’t try the sauce because I wanted to make sure I was focused on the chicken. Plus, I had some premature sauce already. The tempura batter was perfect. I wish I had some zucchini or cauliflower to dip in the leftover! Thanks for the recipe.
Stephanie says
I am glad you enjoyed the chicken. I hope you enjoy the sauce next time too!
Morgan says
What type of vinegar did you use? I tried white vinegar and it was a bit much…
Stephanie says
I used plain white vinegar.
Rikki says
Made this and my kids were thrilled! Thanks for the recipe!
warren says
that is not sweet and sour chicken that is chicken fingers
Ann Scholl says
The sauce is what makes it sweet & sour.
Kim says
I love your recipe but for some reason the lemon over powered the sause…
Tim says
Don’t know where Stephanie ate her Chinese, but I’ve had lots, and never before encountered sweet and sour that tasted like ketchup was the main ingredient – awful. Recipe yields 1 1/2 quarts – enough to last a lifetime, and then some.
Stephanie says
Tim, I bet like you I have had Chinese food at many places. Most likely we both together could list out at least 100. I did a lot of study on the recipe, and many Chinese cooks add in Ketchup. I know, it’s pretty crazy. I believe there is a great documentary about Chinese food, or we should call it American Chinese food it’s called The Search for General Tso, and their website is http://www.thesearchforgeneraltso.com/. Most food we eat and call “Chinese Food”, isn’t really Chinese. It is Americanized food, that many Chinese immigrants adapted for the west. I believe Sweet and Sour would be one of them.
While I understand you don’t like my recipe, it makes very good Sweet and Sour sauce.
Chanise says
I am cooking this recipe now and it tastes exactly like the restaurant. I told my husband I’m never ordering take out again!!! Followed the recipe exactly as stated. I’m trying not to eat them all while I cook. Thank you for this recipe. This is one for the books.