Sweet and Sour Chicken (Without Deep-Frying)
A delicious and authentic chicken recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken (Without Deep-Frying), prepared with traditional seasonings and techniques.
Ingredients
- • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts) (, cut to 1-inch (2-cm) pieces)
- • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- • 1 egg (, beaten)
- • 1/2 teaspoon salt
- • 1/2 cup cornflour
- • 2 tablespoons ketchup
- • 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine ((or dry sherry))
- • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce ((or soy sauce))
- • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- • 2 tablespoons water
- • 1/2 tablespoon cornflour
- • 1/3 cup peanut oil ((or vegetable oil))
- • 2 cloves garlic (, minced)
- • 1/2 small white onion (, chopped)
- • 1 sweet peppers (, chopped (I used a mix of colours in this recipe))
Preparation Steps
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Combine chicken pieces, vegetable oil, and salt in a big bowl. Mix well and let marinate for 10 to 20 minutes.
Add the beaten egg into the bowl with the chicken. Stir to mix well. Add cornflour. Stir to coat chicken, until it forms an uneven coating with a little dry cornflour left unattached.
Heat oil in a heavy duty frying pan until hot, until it just starts to smoke. Add chicken all at once and spread out into a single layer in the frying pan. Separate chicken pieces with a pair of tongs or chopsticks.
Cook without touching the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bottom turns golden. Flip to brown the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a big plate and remove the pan from the stove. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes.
Place the pan back onto the stove and turn to medium heat. You should still have 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in the pan. Add garlic. Cook and stir a few times until it releases its fragrance.
Stir the sauce again to dissolve the cornflour completely. Pour into the pan. Stir and cook until it thickens, when you can draw a line on the bottom with a spatula without the sauce running back immediately.
Add back the chicken pieces, white onion, and sweet peppers. (*Footnote 1) Stir to coat chicken with sauce, 30 seconds. Transfer everything to a plate immediately.
Serve hot as main over steamed rice.