Sweet and sour chicken
40 min · 42 g protein · 491 cals / serving
Everyone's takeout order, rebuilt for a weeknight: seared chicken with peppers, onion and pineapple in a bright, glossy sauce of vinegar, pineapple juice, ketchup and soy. No deep fryer and no thick batter, and the sauce is tangy first and sweet second.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breast, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) cubes
- 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups canned pineapple juice pack, chunks, canned in juice, drained, juice saved
Sauce
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice, the juice from the can
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 onion, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces
- 1 large red bell pepper, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces
- 1 large bell pepper, green, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- a thumb ginger, minced
To serve
- 2/3 cup jasmine rice
- 2 green onions, sliced
Steps
- Start the rice so it is ready with the chicken: bring it to a boil in a lidded pot with 1 1/2 times its volume of water, then cook it covered on the lowest heat for 12 minutes and leave it off the heat, lid on, for 10.
- Toss the chicken with the 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch and the salt until every piece is evenly dusted.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet or well-seasoned wok over medium-high heat; with this little oil, a pan that sticks tears the crust off. Add the chicken in one layer, in two batches if needed, and cook without moving for 2 minutes, then turn and cook until golden on all sides and 165°F inside, 6–7 minutes in all. Transfer to a plate.
- Whisk the pineapple juice with the vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar and the 1 tbsp cornstarch.
- In the same pan over high heat, stir-fry the onion and peppers 3 minutes, until bright and crisp-tender. Add the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, then the pineapple chunks and the sauce, and stir until it boils and turns thick and glossy, about 1 minute. Return the chicken, toss to coat, and serve over the rice, scattered with green onion.
Good to know
Will the chicken stay crisp?
The cornstarch gives it a light, golden crust that holds up for a few minutes in the sauce, rather than a deep-fried shell. Toss it in at the very end and serve straight away for the most crunch.
Can I use fresh pineapple?
Yes, and it is even brighter. Use about 230 g of chunks and swap the canned juice for 1/2 cup of water with an extra teaspoon of sugar. It's about the same score.
Per
- Calories
- 103
- Protein
- (35%)
- 9 g
- Fat
- (15%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (50%)
- 13 g
- of which sugar
- 5 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 184 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1965 kcal goes into the pot and 1876 g of ingredients comes out as about 1900 g of food: 103 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.