Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry
Posted: 06/17/2011
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You’ll find tender chunks of chicken, juicy pineapple, crisp bell pepper and onion, and a tangy sauce in this easy sweet and sour chicken recipe. Much healthier than restaurant versions, you can have this stir fry dinner on the table in 30 minutes.
Loving Chinese take out? Did you know that it’s easy to make your own sweet and sour chicken? In just 30 minutes, you can have your own Chinese restaurant style sweet and sour chicken on the table. I bet you can hardly get take out that fast!
Homemade sweet and sour chicken is so much better for you, too! Why? Well, two reasons mostly: the chicken isn’t deep-fried, and the sauce is made from real ingredients like pineapple juice, grated fresh ginger, and soy sauce, with no added color.
I just know you’re going to love this recipe! And since you’re making it yourself, you can make it just the way you like. Add more veggies, like broccoli, mushrooms, or pea pods! Use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts! Or make your stir fry with shrimp or tofu instead! Why let the Chinese restaurant chefs have all the fun?!
About Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry
You’ll want to get your rice cooking first if you intend to serve your sweet and sour chicken with rice. I love it with jasmine rice but brown rice is so good, too.
This stir fry recipe begins with a simple sauce made with pineapple juice (from the can of pineapple you’ll be adding later), rice vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and fresh ginger. The sauce is thickened with a little cornstarch. Just stir the ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup and set it aside. You’ll be adding it to the pan later.
You’ll want to get all your ingredients chopped and ready to go. Once you have your pan/wok heated up, things go pretty fast. Get the chicken cut up into bite sized pieces and toss the pieces with salt, pepper, and cornstarch.
Why cornstarch? The cornstarch helps seal in the juices of the chicken, aids in browning, and will thicken the sauce up a bit.
Next up are bell peppers, cut into one inch chunks, and an onion. Use whatever color peppers or onions you have on hand. You could also add broccoli, mushrooms, pea pods, or carrots.
Heat your wok or a large skillet over medium high heat. Add a little oil and get ready for action! Stir fry the chicken until it’s nearly done, about 5 minutes, remove it from the pan, keeping the heat on. Add the veggies, and stir fry those another 5 minutes. Put the chicken back in the pan, add the pineapple chunks, and the sauce. Heat and stir until the sauce thickens, another few minutes. Wow, you’re done! Dinner is ready! Wasn’t that fun?!
Make your own chicken stir fry:
Like I mention above, you’re the chef so you can add whatever you like to this versatile stir fry.
- In addition to (or in place of) bell peppers, you could add veggies like broccoli, pea pods, mushrooms, carrots, celery, egg plant, or whatever you like best.
- Replace the chicken breast with boneless skinless chicken thighs, or shrimp. Shrimp will cook even faster than the chicken. For vegetarians, cubed extra firm tofu would be perfect.
- Adjust the sweetness/tanginess of the sauce by tweaking the vinegar and sugar ratio. Or use a jar of sauce purchased from the grocery store.
- Make it hot! Add a 1/2 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes.
Leftovers?
Any leftover sweet and sour chicken can be stored in the fridge in an air tight container for up to three days. Reheat gently in the microwave.
Feeling inspired by this recipe?
Try these Asian style recipes:
- Asian chicken marinade — perfect for grilling!
- Sesame Beef and Vegetables Stir Fry
- Chicken Stir-Fry with Ginger and Basil
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Sweet and Sour Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
- Asian chicken salad with cilantro lime dressing
- Teriyaki chicken — made in a slow cooker
- Honey walnut shrimp
- Air Fryer Egg Rolls
- Easy Mongolian beef by Spend With Pennies, a P. F. Chang copycat recipe
- Easy General Tso’s chicken by Dinner Then Dessert
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
You'll find tender chunks of chicken, juicy pineapple, crisp bell pepper and onion, and a tangy sauce in this easy sweet and sour chicken recipe. Much healthier than restaurant versions, you can have this stir fry dinner on the table in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained (reserve ¾ cup of the juice)
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (reduced sodium)
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
Stir fry:
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into approx. 2” pieces
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Sesame seeds or green onions for garnishing
- cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare sauce by mixing together pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, 4 teaspoons cornstarch, ketchup, and ginger in small bowl or measuring cup.
- Toss chicken with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch, and salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large nonstick skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and nearly done, about 5 minutes; remove from pan and transfer to a plate.
- Add bell pepper and onions to pan; stir fry until tender, about five minutes. Stir in the pineapple chunks and chicken.
- Stir sauce mixture and add to pan; cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 3 more minutes.
- Serve over rice; garnish with toasted sesame seeds or sliced green onions.
Notes
- Feel free to add additional vegetables or make substitutions!
- Make Instant Pot jasmine rice to serve with your stir fry. It's easy and turns out great every time.
- Nutrition information is calculated for the stir fry only and does not include the rice or optional toppings.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 233kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 73mg, Sodium: 688mg, Potassium: 668mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 789IU, Vitamin C: 53mg, Calcium: 34mg, Iron: 1mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Colleen Bishop says
Sounds good! I have all that stuff in the house so will make it, but plan to add mushrooms and snow peas. They are my favorite things in stir fry.
Maris (In Good Taste) says
You did a great job with this! It looks amazing and i am definitely bookmarking this!
Christina @ This Woman Cooks! says
I made this one too, a few weeks ago. I agree about the tangyness (is that even a word?), and wasn’t a huge fan. I’d definitely add more veggies next time too.
Rachel says
Yeah. I think maybe since it was the “budget” recipe, they kept it really simple to keep the price low. I swapped out the white vinegar for rice vinegar, but definitely going to mke a few more changes next time. I was a little surprised my husband likes it, he isn’t usually a fan of sour things.
Beth @ DiningAndDishing says
Yum – I LOVE red peppers. I would totally throw a bunch in more too :). Have an awesome weekend Rachel!
jess☆ @ Multicultural Melbourne says
That looks darn good! Love the combination of pineapple and ginger – very refreshing!