Restaurant-style crispy juicy sweet and sour chicken without deep frying or a wok! {Gluten Free Adaptable}
Sweet and sour chicken is probably THE most popular Chinese dish. Crispy chicken, a sweet scrumptious sauce, and crunchy peppers. It just has all the comforting elements in one bowl. If you travel to China, you will probably be disappointed that you can only find the pork version in restaurants. After all, pork is more of a staple meat for Chinese people than chicken. However, when I was living in Japan, sweet and sour chicken was one of the dishes I learned to make early on.
In most Japanese grocery stores, you will find packaged chicken thighs already cut up into bite-sized chunks. Back then I had zero cooking experience. So I was delighted to discover these products that could save me a bit of trouble, and I went straight for the chicken version.
Why this recipe
Today I want to share this easy sweet and sour chicken recipe that yields crispy chicken, sticky sauce, and crispy veggies, like the restaurant version. But the setup is more practical for any cook to make in their home kitchen. The greatest things about this recipe are:
- No deep-frying required! You will use much less oil to pan fry the chicken. The chicken will end up super crispy and stay that way, even after it’s been tossed in the sauce.
- The sweet and sour sauce is well balanced and rich. It is very fragrant and uses less sugar than most of the sweet and sour chicken recipes.
- No wok required! You can use a regular skillet to make this dish taste great.
Cooking notes
1. How to make crispy chicken without deep frying
I hate deep-frying! That’s why I developed a formula to creating crispy chicken with a crunchy coating that is like the takeout you’d get from Chinese restaurants, without making a mess.
Simply use: oil + salt + egg + cornstarch
This combination creates a dry batter that is suitable for pan-frying. Normally, deep frying requires at least 4 to 5 cups of oil. If you use this batter, you only need 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of oil to pan-fry the chicken in a regular skillet. Not only does it yield an extra crispy exterior and juicy, flavorful meat, but the chicken also stays crispy even after you coat it with sauce.
2. Use any cut of chicken you like
I’m a dark meat person. But using chicken breast creates awesome results, as well.
Just remember to cut the chicken into 1″ (2.5 cm) pieces. The size of the chicken pieces matters because you want the surface to turn crispy with the inside just cooked through at the same time. No matter you use breasts or thighs, they will turned out great.
3. Prep work
Before you start cooking, your countertop should have:
- Marinated chicken that’s coated with cornstarch
- A bowl of chopped garlic
- Chopped onion and pepper in a plate
- Mixed sauce
When you start the cooking, it will only last a few minutes. It’s important to prep all the ingredients before turning on the heat.
I like to group my ingredients according to the recipe (for example, place onion and peppers in one plate), so it’s easier to add them during the stir fry process.
4. Workflow
You only need to:
- Pan fry the chicken, move all the cooked chicken to a plate.
- Saute garlic to release fragrance.
- Add the sauce
- Add back chicken and veggies
NOTE: I only briefly cooked the veggies, so they are very crispy and have a vibrant color. If you prefer to cook your veggies until tender, you can add them right after you saute the garlic.
I hope you enjoy the dish!
More easy restaurant-style stir fry recipes
- Orange Chicken
- Chicken and Broccoli (Chinese Takeout Style)
- General Tso Tofu
- Ginger Beef Stir Fry
- Honey Garlic Shrimp
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Sweet and Sour Chicken (Without Deep-Frying)
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 grams) 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 cornstarch
Sauce
- 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 cornstarch
Stir-fry
- 1/3 cup peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 small white onion , chopped
- 1 bell pepper , chopped (I used a mix of colors in this recipe)
Instructions
- 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 cornstarch. Stir to coat chicken, until it forms an uneven coating with a little dry cornstarch left unattached.
- Heat oil in a heavy duty skillet until hot, until it just starts to smoke. Add chicken all at once and spread out into a single layer in the skillet. 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 cornstarch 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 bell peppers. (*Footnote 1) Stir to coat chicken with sauce, 30 seconds. Transfer everything to a plate immediately.
- Serve hot as main over steamed rice.
Notes
- This recipe yields very crispy veggies that are only briefly cooked, to retain their vibrant colors. If you prefer your veggies to cook more, add them right after the garlic. Then stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes before adding the sauce.
Video
Nutrition
The recipe was originally published in July 20, 2016, using a wok and a deep frying method. I’ve completely altered the steps to make the cooking easier in this new version, which was published on September 14th, 2017. Please update your recipe with the new one if you saved it earlier.
Hello Maggie, a special thanks for sharing your recipes with all to enjoy. I just tried this recipe for the third time- 3 times is a charm here. My girlfriend/roommate wanted Chinese take out really bad. I explained that we can enjoy this recipe here at home and the taste will be better than takeout and all in 45 minutes. She is so skeptical and lazy this day. But she agreed and I had her make my ( your ) sauce. I used my 14” stainless steel frying pan this time and NAILED the recipe. The flavors were bursting in our mouths. She enjoyed every bite, and the next day I ate the rest for lunch- and I was so surprised of its flavor still bursting and no lost texture. I now have bragging rights- because I have my very own Chinese Chief .
My home to your home-Thank you.
Hi Dennis, thanks so much for your kind words and I’m so happy to hear that you and your girlfriend both enjoyed the dish 🙂 Have a great day!
I cooked this meal tonight and my fiance and I were shocked how yummy this meal turned out! We were saying that it tasted like a meal from a Chinese restaurant!
Thank you so much!!!
Great! I just finished it last night and the result was unexpected, my wife and daughter both liked it, which made me happy. Thanks for your recipe
Going to make this tonight as well as your Egg Drop Soup. Wife and I love ginger and in reading the reviews of this dish I noticed it once had ginger as well. You mentioned updating the recipe and taking that out to simplify the ingredient list. I assume if I put it in there it would go in the skillet with the garlic. How much would you use and would you recommend against using it?
Yeah I did skip the ginger later on to shorten the recipe. If you want to add some (I always do!), 1 teaspoon minced would be great.
Happy cooking!
Thank you, for the formula to creating crispy chicken without deep frying
We are love it
This result of this recipe was delicious. Our 15 year old grandson wants it again. It will become a staple in our house.
Its not easy to find thos peanut oil. I did not buy in grocery the one which is gold colored. I keep searching for the amber colored one. Question:whats the reason to marinate the chicken with vegetable oil and than fry it with peanut oil.?
Just a oil that’s quite nutty and flavorful so I like to use it in daily cooking. You can totally use a vegetable oil to replace it, such as canola, grapeseed or sunflower oil.
First time, I managed to prepare this meal. The sauce has a good flavor. I think i used to much 0.5 kg chicken, 3 peper and 1 onions. The garlic here has no garlic tast a d i burned it also. Oil was too hot. In 5 second the whole garlic was almost coaled. In summation:the sauce was a little shallow. I expected more strong flavor . Next time i will use less vegetables.
Really easy to make ! Just found it little more sweet to our taste..shall reduce the sugar but apart from that it was perfect !
I made this last night, doubling it to serve five. We all agreed it was okay, but the sauce lacked that punch of flavor we’re used to in sweet-and-sour dishes. If I make it again, I’ll increase the vinegar and sugar by at least half.
Hi Maggie,
I’m planning on making this for dinner tomorrow since I don’t have any peppers on hand right now but I have a question on the sugar. I use either Swerve or Monk Fruit sugar replacement in everything that requires sugar in the recipe because our household has diabetics. Will that have an effect on the crispness of the chicken? Also, I’m the only one who likes bell peppers in this house. Is asparagus or green beans a good alternative?
I’ve never tested the recipe with any sugar alternatives. I think it’s possible but:
1- I read about the Swerve sugar is less sweet than sugar, and Monk is sweeter. I think you need to replace the amount according to the package indicated to have the correct sweetness.
2- The regular sugar in this recipe helps thicken the sauce a little bit once it’s melt. I’m not sure if the sauce will not be thick enough if you use a sugar alternative. The solution is, dissolve 1 extra tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. If the sauce doesn’t thicken up enough at the end of the cooking, slowly drizzle the extra cornstarch slurry slowly and stir the sauce to thicken (you might not need all of them).
I think asparagus would be a great alternative for bell peppers. You can slice them to 1″ pieces at an angle so it’s easy to cook through. If you use larger cut, you can also lightly blanch the asparagus first to make sure it’s cooked through.
Thank you so much for this recipe! We LOVED it- the directions were easy to understand, the flavors were excellent, the chicken was crispy and moist, and the outcome was better than most take-out we can get (and we get pretty good Asian takeout here in Seattle)! We were floored at how it turned out. We try to eat low/no sugar, so we substituted Golden Monkfruit from Lakanto (1 to 1) and it was perfect. We also served it over steamed broccoli. It was delicious! We can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
This is my husband’s favorite dish. (Mine too) after cooking for him for 62 years he requests this more than anything I’ve ever made. It is a flawless recipe and I encourage everyone to try it. Don’t change a thing.
Beautiful it was,Sweet and Sour Chicken
Great reci-e
Great recipe
Looks amazing – does this work with Tofu?
I think you totally can!
This recipe was absolutely perfect! We loved the taste and all without deep frying. Making it again tonight. Thank you
Great recipe, my family loved it!
As I couldn’t find any Shaoxing wine except salted, I replaced it with dry sherry.
I couldn’t obtain the crispness so it was a bit mushy. It was still tasty though.
Maybe the oil wasn’t hot enough… I have difficulty controlling the heat level.
I’m going to make this recipe again until I get it right!
Maggie you are magic, crispy chicken in a sauce out of a frying pan, Incredible 10/10, thank you