Sweet and sour chicken

Name: Sweet and sour chicken
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 4 servings

Posted: 13/02/2026Updated: 13/02/2026

Fried battered chicken pieces coated in a tangy, sweet, and slightly sour sauce made with vinegar, sugar, and ketchup.

Serve with steamed rice.

Active prep: 15 minutesPassive prep: 30 minutesActive cooking: 20 minutes

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Ingredients

Adjust servingsServings

Fried chicken

800 grams Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1 large Egg
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons Light soy sauce
0.5 teaspoon White pepper
1 teaspoon Salt
5 tablespoons Cornflour
0.5 teaspoon Baking powder (optional)
Vegetable oil, for frying

Sweet and sour sauce

1 small Green bell pepper
1 small Red bell pepper
1 small Brown onion
1 clove Garlic
2 tablespoons Light soy sauce
2 tablespoons Rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Ketchup
3 tablespoons White sugar
120 millilitres Water
Cornflour slurry (1 tbsp cornflour + 2 tbsp cold water)
2 tablespoons Neutral oil

Instructions

Fried chicken

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.
In a bowl, mix the chicken with egg, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, white pepper and salt.
Cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat the oil to 180°C.
Toss the chicken pieces thoroughly in cornflour and baking powder if using.
Fry in batches for 5–7 minutes, until crisp, then drain and set aside.

Sweet and sour sauce

Heat half the oil in a pan over medium heat.
Cut the onion into chunks and cook 2–3 minutes, until just starting to soften.
Add the minced garlic and cook for 20–30 seconds.
Cut the peppers into chunks and cook for 1–2 minutes.
Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside.
Add remaining oil and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Add the soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar and water.
Stir continuously while bringing to a gentle simmer, then add the cornflour slurry.
Continue stirring until the sauce thickens and looks glossy.
Remove from the heat, then add the chicken and vegetables back, and toss until coated.

Helpful notes

Cooking tips

After marinating, let the excess liquid drip off the chicken for 1–2 minutes before coating.
Make sure the oil is hot enough before cooking the chicken to avoid them becoming greasy. Use a cooking thermometer if available or as a rough guide, if you see small bubbles forming around the tip of a submerged wooden utensil, the oil is around 180°C. Do not overcrowd the pan as this can result in uneven cooking and soggy fried chicken. Fry in batches if necessary to maintain the oil temperature.
Always mix cornflour with cold water before adding it to the sauce to prevent clumping. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens to your preferred consistency.
Cook peppers and onion to just short of desired doneness before removing.
Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, then slightly lower heat before adding the slurry. Violent boiling can cause uneven thickening and break down the starch structure.
Instead of simmering the chicken in sauce, remove the pan from heat and fold through quickly. Residual heat is enough to glaze the pieces without softening the crust excessively.

Alternative ingredients

Avoid adding flour to the coating. Cornflour (or potato starch) gelatinises and then dehydrates into a more brittle shell. Wheat flour introduces gluten, which softens the crust.
Chicken breasts can be used instead of chicken thighs; however, will generally not be as tender. Other meats such as pork can be used as well.
Potato starch can be used for dredging and will produce an even lighter, crisper coating than cornflour, though both work well.
Mirin can be substituted for Shaoxing wine if necessary.
Add or substitute other vegetables like brown onion or carrots for added colour and nutrition in the sauce. Pineapple and its juice are also commonly used to enhance the sweetness of this dish.

Storage instructions

Store the sauce and fried chicken separately to prevent the chicken's crispy coating becoming soft. Allow the fried chicken to cool completely at room temperature.

Refrigeration: Store both the sauce and fried chicken up to 3-4 days in an airtight container.

Freezing: Store for up to 3 months but the sauce may lose texture.

Re-heating instructions

If the sauce is frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge. There is no need to thaw the chicken if frozen.

Oven: To re-heat the fried chicken in the oven without losing too much fat, pre-heat to 180°C. Place the fried chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Cook for 10-15 minutes until hot or an additional 10 minutes if cooking from frozen. Let them rest briefly to keep them juicy.

Nutrition and dietary facts

Per serving:Calories: 622kcal (28%), Protein: 36g (60%), Fat: 29.9g (37%), Saturated fat: 5.2g (35%), Carbohydrates: 46g (17%), Sugars: 18g (72%), Fibre: 2g (7%)

NOTE: The nutritional information provided for this recipe is an estimate based on ingredients and cooking instructions as described - it is intended for informational purposes only.