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.
So tasty and so simple & quick!
Thank you!
Even after a very hectic, long day I was able to make this dish quickly! I’ve never had Sweet & Sour Chicken but my daughter’s school served it and she asked if I would make some. It was DELICIOUS! We had no left overs and I wish I had doubled it. Today, we’re trying the tofu version. This is a dish you can easily make any time of the week with any protein of your choice. It’s a keeper!
Nice recipe but I simple cant understand a marinade with just oil and salt, plus a short time. Oil cannot penetrate at all. Salt a little. Marinades usually have acids and sometimes sugar. What is this achieving please?
I think maybe it’s more accurate to call it a coating than marinade. The salt seasons the chicken (like you salt a steak before cooking). The oil helps with the chicken pieces to separate (the pieces tend to stuck together when you add cornstarch) and crisp up. And of course you can use a longer marinating time. Some traditional recipes uses garlic and ginger in the marinade and you can even do it overnight. But these days I found it unnecessary because you will get all the flavors from the sauce.
Dear Maggie, I made this recipe last year for a family cooking competition and won!! Says it all really! This year they are all coming to stay again and they have asked me to make it again. So I have a QUESTION… is it OK to cook the crispy chicken ahead of time? There are so many in my family that I don’t think I could do it all in one go.
Thank you for an absolutely First class recipe site. I have never seen better recipes or more helpful explanations.
Hi Sue, I think it’s fine to cook the crispy chicken ahead of time as long as you don’t put the sauce on. You can heat it up by pan frying, or in an oven (air fryer might be better if you have one). You can prepare the sauce ahead of time as well and heat it up in the pan, then add the reheated chicken. But I recommend to prep the ingredients for the sauce and make it right before serving.
Looks great for those who do not have salt and sugar issues. On both of these flavorings, the contents are way too much loaded of these not so healthy items. The question is, is there an alternative way to make this beautiful dish more friendly to those of us sensitive to salt and sugar? Love to hear from you on this subject.
Excellent recipe. The only thing I did differently was double the sauce – cause we love sauce.
Can you provide recipes using the air fryer, please?
I will work on one soon 🙂
Fantastic. I made a couple of changes. I used a small tin of Pineapple and used two tablespoons of the juice instead of the water. Tastes so good and is as good as a takeaway.
I made this tonight, the sauce was a bit too strong but good, the next time I will add some broth or reduce amount of the spicy ingredients Thank you
Can the battered chicken be fried with an air-fryer?
I have an air fryer version here: https://omnivorescookbook.com/air-fryer-sweet-and-sour-chicken/
The batter is slightly different.
2nd time I’ve made this and it’s excellent. I added some pineapple though and it just gave it a little bit more flavor. It’s very easy to make and well worth the effort.
Did this recipe tonight as part of the daily recipes I signed up to. Delicious!
Can’t hear you in the video for the music is too loud !
This recipe is my all time favourite and is cooked regularly
So delicious !!
We loved this recipe. I just found your site last week. Went to the local Asian market to get your recommendations for pantry staples. This was the first recipe I tried. Great directions and some new techniques for me. A 12 inch stainless sloped skillet pan worked perfectly. No sticking and crispy chicken. I had a request for extra sauce next time. Thanks so much!
This was the best sweet and sour chicken I’ve ever made! It really stays crispy and has so much flavor. Easy to prepare. I’m enjoying learning new asian recipes! Thank you!
I have been using this recipe for years and it’s always great. Very flavorful and satisfying!
Tried a gluten free version with gf soy sauce and no Chinese wine and loved it! Especially because the chicken did not absorb that much oil at all but was still crunchy and delicious 🙂
If you cannot use wine, what can you substitute?
You can use chicken broth to replace the wine.