WeChat Recipes: Master This Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken Recipe

Irene Li, Associate Editor | Oct 5, 2021 2:32 pm | Add a comment | 235 reads

Hot Recipes on WeChat brings you recipes from across the Chinese interwebs that you can try out, all translated into English for your convenience.

A mainstay of Westernized Chinese restaurants the world over, one wouldn't think of cooking sweet and sour chicken for their next China-inspired meal. But for those of us with a sweet tooth and want a little sweet and sour tang in our dining, its an easy weeknight meal to crank out in a flash.

Here are the ingredients you'll need:

  • 500 g of chicken breast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
  • 2 tbsp light Chinese soy sauce
  • 1 tsp of black pepper, or to taste
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp of corn starch
  • 3 tsp of ketchup
  • 1 tsp of white vinegar
  • 1 cup of water

Step 1: Cut the chicken breasts into thin slices. Add them to a bowl and add the salt, Chinese cooking wine, light soy sauce, black pepper, flour and egg. Stir to combine and let sit to marinate. It can marinate for 15 minutes at least, but the longer the better so the flavors can develop.

Step 2: In a skillet over high heat, fry the chicken cutlets until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and set them aside.

Step 3: In the same skillet, combine the ketchup, light soy sauce, white vinegar, and corn starch with one cup of water. Stir to combine, and let the sauce simmer over medium high heat until it starts to boil. Then add in the chicken breast.

Step 4: Stir everything until the sauce coats the chicken and liquid has reduced, roughly five to six minutes. You can sprinkle on white sesame seeds for presentation and texture before plating up and serving.

There is sometimes a bit of confusion over what types of soy sauce are best to use in Chinese recipes. Generally, people here use light soy sauce to enhance flavor, and it goes well with vegetables and light meats as well as cold dishes. But dark soy sauce adds a big hit of umami flavor, as well as a touch of dark, brown color to darker meat dishes. Its also an essential sauce in recipes that call for braising.

Read: Mastering the Ultimate Sweet and Comforting Dish of Twice-Cooked Pork

Images: Shipinhao