Description
We love this homemade sweet and sour chicken with pineapple when we are craving Chinese food. It’s packed with so much flavor. The chicken isn’t deep fried, so it’s much lighter. Plus, it’s easy to make!
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts, patted really dry, and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 4 tablespoons corn starch, or arrow root starch
- 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, or black pepper
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil ( for cooking)
Sweet and sour sauce
- optional: 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 2/3 cup rice vinegar (unseasoned)
- 1/4 cup filtered water
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or sub tamari or coconut aminos)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons corn starch, or arrowroot
Veggies & Pineapple
- 1 medium white, or yellow onion, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 orange, or yellow pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 cup of pineapple, cut into 1/2 inch pieces – (fresh is best, when possible)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (for cooking)
Optional garnishes
- green onions, chopped
- sesame seeds
For serving
- rice of choice: white rice, basmati rice, or jasmine rice, or even brown rice
Instructions
- Prepare – Once you get cooking, this recipe moves fast, so chopping the veggies and the chicken in advance is helpful. For the chicken breasts, you really want them to be very dry. I recommend cutting up the chicken and placing it on a plated lined with a paper towel and let it sit out and dry while you get the remaining ingredients ready. Chop the onion, red and orange/yellow peppers, and the pineapple as instructed above. It’s also a good idea to get your rice cooking (if making it on the stove) at this time. You can cook your rice however you like, but I do recommend using a frozen, microwave rice in this recipe. Cooking your rice in an instant pot, or rice cooker – where you don’t have babysit it is another great option.
- Coat the chicken in the corn starch – Heat a large 12 inch skillet, or a wok on medium high heat (I like using my 12 inch cast iron skillet). In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together the 4 tablespoons corn starch, 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon white pepper (or black pepper) together until well combined. Use tongs to toss the chicken pieces into the corn starch mixture until the pieces of chicken are well coated.
- Cook the chicken – To the heated skillet add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, allow it to melt, and swirl it around in the pan to coat, allow the oil to heat for 1 minute. Once the oil is hot, add half of the chicken, so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the underside of the chicken starts to look brown, and flip the chicken and cook another 2 minutes (the internal temp of the chicken should read 160 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit). Remove the chicken to a bowl and set aside. Add the 3rd tablespoon of coconut oil to the pan and allow it to heat up – repeat the cooking process with the second batch of chicken. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Make the sweet and sour sauce – Meanwhile, while the chicken is cooking – make the sweet and sour sauce. Add the red pepper flakes, rice vinegar, filtered water, honey/agave nectar, tomato paste, soy sauce, and kosher salt to a medium sauce pan. Whisk together until combined. Turn the heat on high heat, bring to a boil – reduce to a mild boil, and allow the sauce to boil for 5 minutes, or until the sauce clings to the back of a spoon – be sure to whisk occasionally. Add the 2 teaspoons corn starch to a small bowl, add a little water, and whisk to create a slurry. Whisk the slurry into the sauce, allow the sauce to simmer for 1 more minute, or until thickened. Remove the sauce from the heat. Note: if the sauce got a little too thick, you can easily thin it out with a little bit of water.
- Cook the veggies – In the same skillet, right after the chicken has been cooked, and removed, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and add the onions – add a sprinkle of kosher salt and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the onions have become slightly charred, tender, but are still crunchy. Next, add the bell peppers and sauté for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the peppers are slightly tender. Then, add the pineapple and cook for 2 minutes, just until warm. Remove the pan from the heat.
- To serve – Toss the chicken with the sweet and sour sauce, until well coated. Note: if you aren’t serving all 4 servings right away, it is best to keep the sauce and chicken seperate for leftovers. Serve the chicken on top of freshly cooked rice, alongside the veggies and pineapple. garnish with more sliced green onions, and/or sesame seeds. Enjoy immediatly.
- Leftovers – store the sauce, chicken, veggies, and rice in separate containers. Re-heat everything separately. To re-heat the rice, add an ice cube in the middle of the bowl of rice, and cover the bowl, heat in the microwave – this team allows the rice to become nice and fluffy. The chicken does lose a little of the crispiness it had – but, it is still very good. Leftovers will last in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
gluten free – To make this recipe gluten free be sure to use tamari, or coconut aminos in place of soy sauce.
soy free option – to make this recipe soy free, use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, or tamari.
pineapple – In a pinch you can used canned pineapple, but I recommend using fresh, if you can. You can easily cut up the fresh pineapple in advance from when you make the recipe. Or, you can buy pre-cut fresh pineapple at the store.
coconut oil – I like using coconut oil when making Asian dishes. It doesn’t make anything taste coconutty, but it does compliment the sweetness of the dish well. You could also use another high smoke point cooking oil such as avocado oil, or grapeseed oil.
Cooking rice options – You can of course cook your rice however you like. But, I often times opt for a frozen, microwave rice that takes 4 to 5 minutes for recipes like this one. Another good option is cooking your rice in an instant pot, or rice cooker where you don’t need to babysit it. Depending on how long it takes to cook your rice will depend on when you want to start it in the recipe.
