# Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken

> The crunch is lost when the chicken swims in the sauce. The right way: fry twice in cornflour, make the sauce separately until thick and glossy, **and toss it through in the final 30 seconds before serving** with the heat off.

**Chinese Cuisine · 50 min · 4 servings · 480 kcal per serving**

Sweet and sour is one of the world's best-known Chinese dishes, and the one most often botched at home. The problem is always the same: the chicken turns soft and soggy instead of crisp. The fix is technique, not quantities.

## Ingredients


### The chicken
- 600 g — chicken breast, cubed
- 1 tbsp — soy sauce
- 1 tsp — salt and pepper

### The coating
- 0.75 cup — cornflour
- 0.25 cup — flour
- 1 — egg

### Sauce
- 0.33 cup — ketchup
- 3 tbsp — rice or cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp — sugar
- 1 tbsp — soy sauce
- 0.5 cup — pineapple juice
- 1 tsp — cornflour + 2 tbsp water

### Vegetables
- 1 — bell pepper, cubed
- 1 — onion, cubed
- 1 cup — pineapple chunks
- 3 cloves — garlic

### For frying
- 3 cups — oil

## Method

1. **Season** — Season the chicken with the soy, salt and pepper and leave it 20 minutes.
2. **Coat** — Mix the cornflour and flour. Dip each piece in beaten egg, then in the starch mixture, pressing so it adheres well.
3. **First fry** — Oil at **160°C**, fry in batches for 5 minutes until cooked without much colour. Lift onto a rack and leave 5 minutes.
4. **Second fry** — Raise the oil to **190°C** and fry for just a minute and a half until golden and crisp. Drain on a rack.
5. **The vegetables** — In another pan with a spoonful of oil, stir-fry the garlic, onion and pepper over high heat for two minutes — they must stay crisp.
6. **The sauce** — Add the sauce ingredients (except the cornflour) and boil for two minutes, then the dissolved cornflour, stirring until thick and glossy. Add the pineapple.
7. **Toss in the last 30 seconds** — Turn off the heat, add the crisp chicken and toss **twice only**, then serve at once with white rice.

## Tips

- Cornflour is the base, not flour — it gives a lighter, crisper shell.
- Toss in the last 30 seconds. Chicken left sitting in sauce becomes a sponge.
- The vegetables stay crisp, not cooked — two minutes over high heat only.
- Pineapple juice gives natural sweetness and acidity, better than more sugar and vinegar.

## FAQ

### Why does my chicken go soft so fast?
It sat in the sauce, or you fried it only once. Double frying drives out the moisture, and tossing late preserves the crunch.

### Can I use an air fryer?
Yes — 200°C for 15 minutes with an oil spray. Much lighter, with the same rule about tossing late.

### The restaurant sauce is bright red — is mine wrong?
The vivid red in restaurants comes from artificial colouring. Here the colour is a natural orange from the ketchup — the taste is the same.

---

Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/chinese-cuisine/chinese-sweet-and-sour-chicken
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-29