Easy Sweet And Sour Chicken Stir Fry

It is for sure better than take-out, healthier, and you can control all the flavors and balance the sweetness if you like. This is not the typical battered deep-fried sweet and sour chicken but a lighter version and quicker.

The chicken pieces are mixed in cornstarch that adds a unique and delicate tenderness to the chicken and makes it really juicy when simmered in sauce.

Complete the dish with thinly sliced scallions, hot pepper slices, sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles. The sweet and sour chicken stir fry also freezes really well and no one will be able to tell that it was not made the same day.

And of course, as always, this recipe is gluten-free, and won’t require any batter deep frying in plenty of oil. You’ll have dinner ready in 30 minutes, no hassle!

If you like Asian-style recipes be sure to take a look at my similar recipe such as Soba Noodles Stir Fry, Chicken Lo Mein, Napa Cabbage Stir Fry.

There is a skip-to-recipe button in the top left corner along with a clickable table of contents list (just below) that will quickly take you to the part you are more interested in. Enjoy!

• Tender chicken bites - delicious, tender and juicy chicken pieces covered lightly in cornstarch.

• Kid-friendly - the only spiciness that dish gets is from added ginger, otherwise, it has a classical sweet and sour flavor that some kids love to eat too.

• Easy One-Pot Meal - Stir in the kitchen rice or noodles for a quick solution for a busy weeknight dinner!

• Perfectly balanced sweet and sour flavors + easily customizable by adding less or more sugar to the sauce. Taste test when simmering the sauce.

• If you'll love this you should try these recipes next: BBQ Pork Fried Rice, Thai Style Easy Chicken Stir Fried Rice

Chicken Breasts - use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or alternatively, chicken thighs will work too. Just more prep on your side and smaller strips/chunks.

Cornstarch - makes the chicken extra tender and thickens the sauce.

Ketchup - you can also use tomato paste but the flavor will be different. You might need to add extra sugar to balance it off.

Vinegar - you can use both White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar

Gluten-free Soy Sauce - makes the sweet and sour sauce taste as it should be! Use the low sodium option.

Sweet and Sour sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat add oil and saute garlic and ginger for about 1 minute.

Stir in sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce. Simmer until sugar dissolves.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together cornstarch and water and pour the mixture into the saucepan.

Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes until the sweet and sour sauce starts thickening. Set aside.

Chicken prep. In a medium bowl add chicken, season with salt and pepper and stir in the cornstarch.

Make sure all the chicken pieces are covered in cornstarch. Set aside.

Cook. In a large skillet or wok over medium to high heat add 2-3 tablespoon of vegetable oil and cook the chicken until golden brown on all sides (about 3-4 minutes.)

Remove from pan and set aside in a plate lined with a paper towel.

In the same skillet add vegetables, cook for a few minutes until they get almost tender, and throw in the pineapple.

Stir well and return chicken to the pan, pour the sauce on top.

Stir and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Taste the sauce for seasoning, add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with scallions, sesame seeds and rice, noodles or other favorite side.

• Make it spicy - the sweet and sour chicken has ginger in the mix which may add a little spicy flavor to it, but I also prefer adding chili flakes or thinly sliced hot peppers in the sauce or on top of the finished dish when serving.

• Sweet and sour sauce - The dish has plenty of sauce to pour on your side dish later as well. I just like my sauces this way! One more thing to note: when the cornstarch is added, the sauce turns very light and pale in color, which is normal, after simmering for a while it will start thickening and hence will change the color to red-orange.

• Pineapple - canned or fresh. is totally optional, and adds extra sweetness to the dish. You can also leave the bell peppers out and make the sweet and sour chicken just with onion and chicken too.

• Fresh produce - Use fresh bell peppers and pineapple if possiblee.

Sweet and Sour Chicken is a great dish to freeze, it remains very delicious after thawing.

You can easily make this a one-pot meal by stirring in any type of GF pasta or noodles, brown or white rice, cauliflower rice, bulgur (make sure it's gluten-free). Depending on the amount of noodles or rice you'll be adding, make sure to prep some extra sauce to be on the safe side.

I hope you'll enjoy this Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry and if you make it, please let me know down below in the comments or by tagging @theyummy_bowl under your picture on Instagram.

Thank you for reading,

Love,

Julia

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