Sweet and sour stir-fried chicken is the kind of dish that makes a Wednesday feel a little less ordinary. Bright, glossy and packed with vibrant colour, it strikes that perfect balance between tangy and sweet, with tender strips of chicken tossed alongside crisp peppers and juicy pineapple in a sticky, flavourful sauce.
This is midweek cooking at its best: quick to prepare, made in one pan and on the table in under 30 minutes. Serve it over fluffy jasmine rice or spoon it into bowls of noodles for a comforting yet light supper.
It’s a family-friendly favourite that doesn’t feel fussy, yet still delivers on flavour. And because it relies on pantry staples and everyday ingredients, it’s the sort of recipe you’ll return to again and again.
Simple, satisfying and full of fresh, feel-good flavour – exactly what a busy midweek evening calls for.
Sweet and sour stir-fried chicken
Ingredients
MARINADE
- 45ml (3 tbsp) soy sauce
- 20ml (4 tsp) white wine
- 5 chicken breasts, skinless and deboned, cut into thin strips
- 10ml (2 tsp) cornflour
- 45ml (3 tbsp) oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 20ml (4 tsp) fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 2 small carrots, thinly sliced
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- ½ red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- ½ yellow pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 200g oyster mushrooms, sliced
- handful bean sprouts
- 2 pineapple rings, finely sliced
- 2 spring onions, diagonally sliced, plus extra for garnish
- 2,5ml (½ tsp) Chinese five-spice
- rice, cooked, to serve
Instructions
Mix the soy sauce and wine together in a bowl and add the chicken. Rub to coat well and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours.
Roll the marinated chicken pieces in the cornflour.
Heat 30ml (2 tbsp) of the oil in a wok or large frying pan and fry the chicken for a few minutes on all sides, turning until crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in the same pan and sauté the garlic and ginger for a few seconds. Add the carrots, onion, peppers, mushrooms and sprouts and stir-fry for a minute, stirring continuously. Return the chicken to the pan, together with the pineapple, spring onion and five-spice. Mix well, heat through and serve with rice of your choice.
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ALSO SEE: Sichuan beef, tatsoi and cashew stir-fry
Recipe by Anna Montali
Assisted by Nomvuselelo Mncube
Photograph Graeme Wyllie
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
