glossy Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken—the oven version gives you crunch without deep frying, plus that classic tangy sauce.
🍍🍗 Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
🧾 Ingredients
Chicken:
- 500g boneless chicken (bite-sized cubes)
- 1 egg
- ½ cup cornstarch (or cornflour)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Sauce:
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup vinegar (white or apple cider)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch + 3 tbsp water (slurry)
- 1 cup pineapple chunks (optional but classic)
- 1 capsicum (bell pepper), chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
👩🍳 Instructions
1. Prep chicken
Mix chicken with:
- egg
- soy sauce
- salt & pepper
Then coat each piece in cornstarch until lightly covered.
2. Bake (for crispiness)
- Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F)
- Place chicken on a lined tray
- Spray or lightly brush with oil
Bake for:
- 20–25 minutes, flipping halfway
Until golden and slightly crispy
3. Make sweet & sour sauce
In a pan:
- Mix ketchup, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce
- Bring to a gentle simmer
- Add cornstarch slurry to thicken
- Add pineapple, onion, and capsicum
- Cook 2–3 minutes (vegetables should stay slightly crisp)
4. Combine
- Add baked chicken into sauce
- Toss until fully coated and glossy
🍽️ Result
You get:
- Crispy baked chicken pieces
- Sticky, tangy-sweet glaze
- Juicy pineapple and crunchy vegetables
Perfect with steamed rice or fried rice.
🔥 Tips for best results
- Don’t skip cornstarch coating—it creates crisp texture
- Bake on a wire rack if possible for even crunch
- Add sauce only at the end to keep chicken crisp
- Adjust sweetness/tang by balancing sugar vs vinegar
If you want, I can also make:
- a Chinese restaurant-style deep-fried version
- a spicy sweet and sour chicken
- or a no-oven stovetop version for quick cooking
