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hong kong style sweet and sour chicken in a cast iron skillet
Kyrie | Healthfully Rooted Home

Sweet and Sour Chicken Hong Kong Style

5 from 1 vote
My sweet and sour chicken hong-kong style simplifies the recipe and uses simple, healthy ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Calories: 467
Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

Stir Fry Ingredients
  • 2 lbs chicken breasts chopped into 1-2-inch chunks
  • 1/2 yellow onion chopped into 1-inch wedges
  • 1/2 green bell pepper chopped into 1-inch wedges
  • 1/2 red bell pepper chopped into 1-inch wedges
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup pineapple chunks
  • avocado or coconut oil for frying
Marinade Ingredients
  • 1 cup arrowroot powder can sub cornstarch. see 'how to make sweet and sour chicken healthier' section above.
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbs coconut aminos or liquid aminos, or soy sauce. see 'how to make sweet and sour chicken healthier' section above.
  • 2 tsp coconut sugar can sub honey or cane sugar. see 'how to make sweet and sour chicken healthier' section above.
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic paste
Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients
  • 2 tbs rice vinegar
  • 4 tbs coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup bone broth
  • 3 tbs ketchup no sugar added
  • 2 tsp tomato paste
  • 2 tbs pineapple juice
  • 1/8 tsp arrowroot powder can sub cornstarch. see 'how to make sweet and sour chicken healthier' section above.
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Method
 

  1. Chop your chicken into bite-size chunks and place in a large bowl.
  2. Add all the marinade ingredients to the bowl of chicken (minus the arrowroot powder). Using gloves (optional, but nice) blend together the chicken with the marinade ingredients until each piece is well coated. Set aside.
  3. Make your swete and sour sauce by whisking together all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
  4. Chop all the veggies and pineapple.
  5. Preheat a large cast iron skillet (or wok) over medium-high heat for a couple minutes. Once preheated, add your oil (enough to fry the chicken) and let that preheat for another minute.
  6. While your oil is preheating, place the 1 cup of arrowroot powder in a bowl and set that, along with the bowl of marinading chicken next to your skillet.
  7. Dredge your chicken chunks in the powder and place in the hot skillet. Fry the chicken in small batches for several minutes on each side until golden brown. You may need to adjust the heat as you go to make sure the chicken doesn't burn.
  8. Once each batch of chicken is done, place them onto a paper-towel lined plate and do the next batch.
  9. Once your chicken is all cooked, turn off the heat, pour any excess oil out of the skillet and remove any chicken bits.
  10. Turn the heat back on to medium and add a couple tbs more of avocado or coconut oil.
  11. Add the garlic, onion and bell pepper and saute for one minute.
  12. Add your sauce to the veggies and saute until the sauce thickens and is quitwe bubbly.
  13. Add the pineapple and stir.
  14. Add the fried chicken, turn the heat off and stir until chicken is coated.
  15. Serve overtop a bed of rice and eat immediately.

Video

Notes

How to Store Homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken

Specifically Hong-Kong style sweet and sour chicken is best-eaten same-day and not stored for later. Since the batter layer is so thin and the chicken is tossed in the sauce, it gets soggy quickly. However here are some storage options:

Refrigerator

To store sweet and sour chicken in the refrigerator, simply place the leftovers in an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To reheat, place it in a warm cast iron skillet until heated through. You could also opt to heat in the microwave until heated through.

Freezer

To freeze your leftover hong-kong style sweet and sour chicken, place it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, pull the dish out of the freezer and defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat as instructed above.

Storing Suggestions

If you know you're going to want to store some of your sweet and sour chicken ahead of time I'd follow these steps:
  1. Set aside some of the fried chicken after being fried.
  2. Then set aside some of the sauce-covered vegetables after sauteeing.
  3. Store the two separately.
  4. When you're ready to reheat, simply place the chicken in a warm cast iron skillet until heated through, then toss in the veggies and sauce and saute until warmed through.

In a Pinch Ideas

  1. Don't batter the chicken - you'll sacrifice flavor but you could opt to either just marinate the chicken, but not dredge in the powder, or you could skip the marinating all together and just dry up the raw chicken and toss in the sauce.
  2. Use canned pineapple - That's what I used anyway for this recipe since I could use some of the juice for the sweet and sour sauce.
  3. Get a saute package from the store - stores usually have a "saute packet" or "fajita packet" with bell peppers and onions already sliced. You'll pay a premium, but you could always get those to shave off some prep time.
  4. Use your favorite sweet and sour sauce - You could always use a store-bought sweet and sour sauce instead of making your own. I'd suggest checking the ingredient label though to make sure it's a healthy one.

Western Style Sweet and Sour Chicken Tips

For restaurant-quality sweet and sour chicken Hong Kong style, be sure to follow the recipe tips below.
  • Fry the chicken in small batches - this prevents the well-heated oil from dropping temp too much resulting in crispier chicken.
  • Double fry if you have time - This takes a ton of time, but will result in crispier chicken. To do this, fry one batch of chicken, set on a plate, then fry the other batch. Once that batch is done, remove and replace the first batch to dry again for several more minutes. Do this will all your chicken.
  • Let your chicken marinate - I highly recommend keeping the order of my recipe the same since it builds in time for your chicken to marinate and develop it's flavors while you're chopping and making the sauce.
  • Use gloves - wear gloves to toss the chicken in the marinade so you can really get it coated. Same for when you're dredging the chicken in the powder just before frying.