🍗🍍 Sweet and sour chicken (Baked Version)
Baked sweet and sour chicken is a lighter take on the classic crispy fried dish. Instead of deep-frying, the chicken is oven-baked, then tossed in a glossy sweet-and-tangy sauce.
🧾 Ingredients
🍗 Chicken
- 500g chicken breast or thigh (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 egg
- ½ cup cornstarch (or flour)
- Salt & black pepper
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oil
🍯 Sweet & sour sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup vinegar (white or apple cider)
- ⅓ cup sugar (adjust to taste)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1–2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ cup pineapple chunks + a little juice (optional but classic)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water (slurry to thicken)
🫑 Optional add-ins
- Bell peppers (red/green)
- Onion chunks
- Pineapple pieces
👩🍳 Method
1. Coat the chicken
- Mix chicken with egg, soy sauce, salt, pepper.
- Toss in cornstarch until lightly coated.
2. Bake
- Place chicken on a greased baking tray.
- Lightly spray or brush with oil.
- Bake at 200°C (390°F) for 20–25 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden.
3. Make the sauce
- In a pan, combine ketchup, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and pineapple juice.
- Simmer until it starts bubbling.
- Add slurry to thicken into a glossy sauce.
4. Combine
- Add baked chicken to the sauce.
- Toss until fully coated.
- Add peppers or pineapple chunks if using.
🍽️ Serving ideas
- With steamed rice 🍚
- With fried rice
- As a party dish or main course
💡 Tips
- Don’t skip coating—it helps the baked chicken get crispy
- Adjust sweetness and tanginess to your taste
- Add chili flakes if you like a spicy twist
⚡ Quick 3-step version
- Coat & bake chicken
- Make sweet & sour sauce
- Toss together
If you want, I can show you a air-fryer crispy version, a restaurant-style battered version, or a spicy Indo-Chinese fusion style.
