Nothing hits the spot when dinner cravings strike quite like ordering your favorite Chinese takeout for an easy night in with great flavors. But this wouldn’t be much of a recipe if we just told you to go and order out, so instead this is your chance to make a takeout favorite from the comfort of your kitchen with this sweet and sour chicken recipe! We hope you’re ready to enjoy crispy Halal chicken and fresh veggies in a fantastically flavorful sauce because you’ll be enjoying it in no time.
Getting right into it, there isn’t a lot to worry about on the prep side for this recipe. It includes a quick marinade for the chicken, but no need to let it sit over night because it only needs a few minutes for the chicken to absorb the liquid to give it a bit more flavor. That’s the perfect opportunity to slice the bell peppers and onion you’ll be using. A little bit of these goes a long way and they’re the perfect thing to complement the sweet and sour flavors of the sauce, the bell peppers are tangy and fresh, and the onion is crisp and savory in a way that not only adds more complex flavors to the dish, but also a lot of great differences in texture to the final meal.
And speaking of texture, this is without a doubt some of the best homemade fried chicken I’ve ever had. Once it’s marinated it’s good to go into the homemade batter and fried. This by itself may not be that exciting but the secret to these crispy little nuggets of delicious is in how you fry them. Sure, they’re good if you do the standard fry them in batches until golden brown maneuver, but what makes these great is double frying them after they’ve had time to drain on some paper towels. This gives you chicken pieces that are deeply golden-brown and so incredibly crispy, but with overcooking the actual chicken and drying it out. So do yourself a favor and take time to double fry your chicken!
Now for the sauce, arguably the most important part of this whole recipe. Without it, you’re left with fresh veggies and crispy fried chicken, which still sounds pretty good, but I digress. It’s a simple mix of sweet and savory flavors like sugar, vinegar, and ketchup but what really adds a lot of sweetness with a little bit of sour is the addition of some pineapple juice. And if you’re using canned pineapple, you can use that juice and toss in a bit of the pineapple chunks into the dish for even more refreshing flavors.
When everything is ready, assembling it all in a hot pan or wok is all that stands between you and the tastiest sweet and sour chicken you’ve ever had. If you need a little bit of help getting the sauce to thicken to the right consistency, stream in a few tablespoons of a cornstarch slurry of water and cornstarch. A little bit goes a long way, and you’ll have a smooth sauce that’s perfect for giving everything a nice even coat of sweet and sour goodness. Serve this over rice and you’re all set! And afterwards, you won’t want to go back to takeout!
That’s it for this week. Sweet and sour chicken is a takeout favorite for many and there’s a lot to like about this recipe, so be sure to share it with someone else that will love it too. As always, we look forward to bringing you a new recipe next week and we hope you’re looking forward to it too but enjoy this one until then.
