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Sweet and Sour Chicken
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Ingredients
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Method
5 steps
- 1
Mix 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dry sherry or Chinese cooking wine, 1 beaten large egg, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ cup cornstarch. Add 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces and coat well — every piece should look wet and slightly sticky.
- 2
Heat about ½ inch neutral oil in a skillet to about 375°F (190°C) — a scrap of batter should sizzle hard immediately. Fry chicken in batches until lightly browned and cooked through (no pink in the center), 3–5 minutes per batch. Drain on a rack so they stay crisp.
- 3
Drain a 20 oz can of pineapple chunks, reserving the juice. Add water to the juice to make 1 cup; whisk in 2 tablespoons cornstarch until smooth.
- 4
In a saucepan, combine the juice slurry, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup ketchup, ¼ cup vinegar (apple cider or rice), and ¼ cup soy sauce. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring, until thick and glossy, 2–3 minutes — it should coat a spoon.
- 5
Stir in the fried chicken, 1 green bell pepper cut into chunks, and the pineapple. Simmer until the pepper softens slightly and everything is hot, 2–3 minutes. Serve over rice. You want crisp chicken in a bright sweet-tart glaze with soft pineapple and crisp pepper — not soggy fried bits in a thin ketchup soup.