Ever want to order Chinese food, but delivery is going to take 30+ minutes and you know it’s not the healthiest option for you? Well, I found a great option for you! It’s a homemade version of sweet & sour chicken but (slightly) healthier! It has loads of veggies, a homemade sauce and an easy dip-and-cook chicken! The best part is that this dinner is made in one large pan – easy dinner AND an easy cleanup! Win-Win!
To make this dinner, you can make the sauce using the recipe below or buy a jar of it to save time. Sweet & Sour sauce usually runs about $3-$4 at Walmart, but it is a little more on the sweet side than sour.
Once the sauce is made, coat your chicken in cornstarch, dip it in egg and flour and fry in a little bit of oil. You can skip the dredging of cornstarch, egg and flour, but it will be more of a pan-fried chicken.
As soon as you finish making the chicken, throw the veggies in for a few minutes until they soften. Toss everything back together and dinner is ready! You can serve this as is or with some rice on the side. Cauliflower rice would be great, too!
What’s your favorite homemade Chinese food restaurant dinner you make at home? I’d love to hear in the comments below. Happy cooking!
Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken
Ingredients
Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce (you can also buy a jar of sweet & sour sauce to save time):
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 4 teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
Chicken & Vegetables:
- Avocado oil, for frying
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 eggs , beaten
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 bell peppers (any color) , cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 small handful snow peas, roughly chopped
- 1 cup broccoli, diced small
- 1/2 yellow onion , cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 cup pineapple chunks , cut into 1-inch chunks
- Sesame seeds (optional), to garnish
Directions
- To make the sauce, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, and garlic into a small bowl. Set-aside.
- In a large pan, add enough oil so that comes up from the bottom about an inch and a half. Preheat on medium-high heat.
- While the pan is heating up, add the cornstarch to a large ziplock bag then add chicken pieces and shake until well coated. Dip the chicken pieces into the egg, then into the flour before adding to the hot oil. Add in batches so as not to have more than a single layer of it in the oil at a time. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes, until cooked through and crispy. Remove chicken from pan and place on a plate (no paper towels), and continue cooking the remaining batches of chicken.
- When chicken is done cooking, remove all but a tablespoon of the oil, then add peppers, snow peas, broccoli and onion. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until tender.
- Add the chicken pieces, pineapple and sauce into the pan with the cooked vegetables, and stir until the sauce is thickened and bubbling.
- Serve immediately, with optional garnishes of sesame seeds.
