This quick and easy sweet and sour chicken is delicious and addicting. It will be ready to eat in less than half an hour. The pineapple and vinegar added are the sweet and sour in this Asian-style chicken cuisine. It makes an excellent family dinner and a convenient and tasty lunch pack too.
Start by making the sweet and sour sauce. In a saucepan add pineapple juice, 3/4 cup water, sugar, tomato ketchup and white vinegar. Whisk all the ingredients together.
Heat the pan over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Take it off the heat.
In a small bowl combined 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water,mixing them well. Add the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and stir it and reheat the sauce until it thickens.
In a separate bowl, prepare the batter for the chicken. Add self-rising flour, vegetable oil, cornstarch ,salt,pepper and egg into the bowl. Mix well.
Then add 3/4 cup of water gradually and stir it to form a thick batter. (use 1 egg white instead of 1 whole egg if you prefer a crispier batter)
Next, cut the chicken thigh fillets into 1 inch cube.
Add the chicken into the bowl with the batter. Stir the chicken fillets in the batter until they are well coated.
Heat oil in a skillet or wok. Fry the chicken pieces in the hot oil for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove chicken pieces from skillet and drain on paper towels.
When ready to serve the sweet and sour chicken, slice 1 green and 1 red bell pepper into 1/2 inch pieces.
Then layer the bell peppers, pineapple slices and cooked chicken on a platter.
Finally pour the sweet and sour sauce over the chicken. Serve with rice.
To pack this dish into a lunchbox, layer the bell peppers, pineapple slices and cooked chicken in the lunchbox.
Put the sweet and sour sauce separately in a small bottle or container. Only pour the sauce into the cooked chicken when ready to eat.