Sweet & sour chicken
By John Torode
Cooking time
Prep: 20 mins Cook: 45 minsSkill level
EasyServings
Serves 4Try an authentic version of this classic Chinese takeaway dish, with natural sweetness and a warm chilli flavour to spice things up
Nutrition and extra info
Additional info
- Sauce can be frozen
Nutrition
- kcalories
- 654
- protein
- 38g
- carbs
- 82g
- fat
- 20g
- saturates
- 3g
- fibre
- 2g
- sugar
- 50g
- salt
- 0.57g
Ingredients
- sunflower or vegetable oil, for frying
- 100ml soda water, chilled
- 140g self-raising flour
- 25g cornflour
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- spring onions, finely shredded, to serve
For the sauce
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
- 3 red chillies, 1 cut into chunks, 2 halved and deseeded
- 425g can pineapple chunks, drained and juice reserved
- 4 star anise
- 50g tamarind paste
- 100g caster sugar
- 100ml rice wine vinegar or Chinese vinegar
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Method
- For the sauce, put the red pepper, chunks of chilli and pineapple juice in a pan and bring to the boil. Cover and cook for 10 mins, then purée in a food processor. Return to the pan with the pineapple chunks, chilli halves, star anise, tamarind, sugar and vinegar. Gently simmer for 20-30 mins until reduced and sticky. Keep warm, or reheat to serve.
- Fill a large pan 1cm deep with oil and heat until shimmering. Whisk the soda water and 100ml cold water into the self-raising flour with a little salt. Tip the cornflour onto a plate, line a tray with kitchen paper and turn on the oven to low.
- Stir the batter well. Dust the chicken with cornflour, then dip into the batter. One at a time, lower into the hot oil (about 5-6 every batch). Turn up the heat to keep the chicken frying, if needed, and cook for 5-6 mins, turning once. When cooked, drain on the tray, and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Stack onto a plate with the warm sauce on the side, and scatter with shredded spring onions.
Recipe from Good Food magazine, March 2010
Comments, questions and tips
Comments
I made a few small changes. I skinned the red paprika and chili, because I didn't like all the bits of skin in the sauce. Instead of tamarind paste I added 2 tablespoons of ketjap (soy sauce), 2 tablespoons of ketchup, and I substituted brown sugar for the white sugar. I thickened the sauce with cornflour, because after 30 min of simmering it was still a bit too runny. I added stir fried garlic, spring onions and green paprika to the finished sauce to add a bit more veges. The chicken was a bit bland, so I sprinkled it with salt as soon as it came out of the deep fryer.
I made this recipe tonight and it tasted great! I replaced the tamarind with ketchup because at the last minute I realised I'd ran out of tamarind...anyway, a dollop of ketchup worked well as a replacement (I guessed it wouldn't make much difference because tamarind is such a delicate flavour anyway). Absolutely vital to use the star anise, which really makes this dish. Big fan of John Torodes!!