Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe - The Recipe Critic (2024)

FAQs

What is the batter made of in sweet and sour chicken? ›

Sweet and Sour Chicken Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make homemade sweet and sour chicken: For the sauce: water, pineapple juice from a can, white sugar, white vinegar, and orange food coloring. For the batter: cornstarch, self-rising flour, vegetable oil, an egg, salt, and white pepper.

You can also add cut fresh pineapple to this recipe at the very end to get them mixed in with the sauce. We love this served over steamed brown rice or cauliflower rice. You could also stir in some cooked noodles (such as spaghetti or rice noodles) and maybe some extra sauce or pasta water to bring it all together.

The origin of sweet and sour chicken was in the 18th century or even earlier from China. It spread to the United States in the early 20th century after the Chinese migrant gold miners and railroad workers turned to cookery as trades. In some countries, the dish is known as Ku lo yuk.

While sweet and sour can be found in diverse forms in China, the American version builds upon the simple mixture of sugar, vinegar, and spices with the addition of fruit juice—most commonly pineapple—and ketchup, giving the sauce both its red hue and uniquely Western flavor.

A corn starch slurry thickens the sauce – this sauce is a medium thickness, so depending on your preference add little more or less corn starch slurry (but go slowly – the sauce will take a little time to thicken up once the slurry is added).

General Tso's chicken and sweet and sour chicken are completely different dishes. Starting with the sauce, General Tso's chicken is a sweet, spicy, and slightly tangy while sweet and sour sauce is often served on the side and is just sweet and tangy.

Sweet and sour is particularly popular in westernised Cantonese cuisine and may be found all over the world commonly with pork or chicken. Several provinces in China produce various dishes that claim to be the ancestor including a traditional Jiangsu dish called “pork in a sugar and vinegar sauce”.

Orange Chicken is crispy and light due to its thin glaze. Meanwhile, Sweet and Sour Chicken is crispy with a thicker and more indulgent sauce. Their different textures make them both a delicious choice when you are craving Chinese food.

The original recipe was Shanghainese and used black vinegar. It's not meant to be orange, but black. But somewhere along the way, ketchup replaced the vinegar and it turned orange in the UK. Now that dish is called Sweet and Sour Chicken—Hong Kong style.

What is the difference between sweet and sour chicken and sweet and sour chicken Cantonese style? ›

Our sweet and sour dishes are either 'Cantonese style' (which is the same as 'Hong Kong Style') or Sweet and Sour 'Balls' (thick battered). Our Cantonese style is cooked with the sauce, onions, peppers and pineapple. Whereas the Sweet and sour Chicken or King Prawns balls come with a separate pot of sauce.

While originating from China in the 1700s, sweet and sour sauce developed into the popular sauce it is today in America during the late 19th century.

Soak them in a solution of salt and water for about 30 minutes to an hour. This helps the chicken retain moisture during the baking process, resulting in juicier and more tender meat. Marinate the chicken breasts in a flavorful mixture of herbs, spices, and acidic ingredients like yogurt or citrus juice.

Brines and marinades help tenderize the meat by bringing more moisture in the protein. With that extra moisture, you lose less when you cook. The simplest way to do this is with a dry brine — unwrap the chicken breasts, salt them on both sides and let them sit in the fridge for at least an hour.

Many recipes for batter-fried chicken recommend using wheat flour or a combination of wheat flour and cornstarch.

If you drop a food item into hot oil and cook it, then it's deep-fried. Like how chunks of potato are turned into french fries. If you dip the food item into batter before you drop it into the oil and cook it, then it's battered and fried or batter fried.

Season the chicken with light soy sauce, salt, white pepper, egg and flour. Mix until combined and marinate for 20 minutes. In a bowl, mix together ketchup, brown sugar, white vinegar, chicken stock and cornstarch. In a large bowl, mix together the Dry Seasoning Mix ingredients.