Quick sweet and sour chicken

Who hasn’t experienced this? After a hard day at work, you want to eat something tasty quickly that tastes good and doesn’t take you ages to make in the kitchen. This is where our recipe for “Quick Sweet and Sour Chicken” comes into play. We can easily recreate this classic Asian restaurant dish at home, especially with ingredients that you usually have at home anyway. What’s particularly practical is that this recipe can be prepared not only in a wok, but also in a pan – depending on what you have on hand. This recipe is therefore perfect for anyone who wants to quickly whip up something tasty after a stressful day.

Quick sweet and sour chicken

The 5 most important ingredients for the perfect sweet and sour chicken

For a successful “sweet and sour chicken” there are a few ingredients that are essential to give this dish its characteristic taste. Here are the five most important:

Chicken fillet:
Without chicken, there is no sweet and sour chicken. We use chicken breast fillet. It is cut into cubes, you can also buy already chopped chicken fillet, and then marinated with soy sauce and cornstarch. This not only adds flavor, but also ensures a great consistency afterwards.

Soy sauce:
Soy sauce is an essential part of the marinade and the sauce. It brings the necessary salty component into play and enhances the umami taste. It is worth using a high-quality soy sauce as it has a significant influence on the taste of the entire dish. Light soy sauce is particularly suitable for this recipe as it does not mask the other flavors.

Paprika:
The red pepper provides a fruity sweetness and at the same time brings a beautiful color to the dish. It should be crisp and fresh, as it is only fried briefly in the pan and should retain its bite. You can choose the classic shape of pepper or use a pointed pepper. A yellow or orange pepper can also be used in the sweet and sour chicken.

Ginger:
Fresh ginger gives the dish its typical Asian flavor and provides a slight spiciness. When buying ginger, it should be firm and not shriveled. The ginger should be peeled; you can do this with a teaspoon (yes, it works) or a classic knife or vegetable peeler. The ginger flavor goes perfectly with the ketchup and the sambal oelek.

Sambal Oelek:
This spicy chili seasoning brings a pleasant spiciness into play that harmonizes perfectly with the sweetness of the ketchup. Sambal Oelek is actually available in all supermarkets and should be used sparingly to control the spiciness according to your own taste. The spiciness of the sambal brings a pleasant kick to the sauce.

The right preparation for an authentic taste

This recipe can be prepared in either a pan or a wok. The wok brings you even closer to authentic Asian cuisine, as it heats the ingredients evenly and gives them the typical wok flavor. If you don’t have a wok to hand, the pan is just as good. It is important to heat the oil properly before frying the chicken – this way it stays juicy and gets a light crust. To know whether the fat is at the right temperature, you can hold a wooden spoon/toothpick in it. If small bubbles form on the wood, the temperature has been reached and you can begin.

The special touch: roasted cashew nuts

A small but nice tip: Roasted cashew nuts go perfectly with this dish. They add an additional nutty note and a crunchy bite. You can either roast the cashew nuts in a pan without fat or buy them already roasted and sprinkle them sweet and sour over the chicken just before serving. Did you know that the term “nut” for cashews is actually wrong? The correct term would be “cashew fruit” because they are stone fruit. Crazy, right?

Quick sweet and sour chicken

📖 Recipe

Quick sweet and sour chicken

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Court Main course

Kitchen Asian, Chinese

Keywords Quick sweet and sour chicken

Preparation time

5 Minutes

Cooking time

20 Minutes

Total time

25 Minutes

🥕 Ingredients for the recipe

  • Prepare chicken: Cut the chicken fillet into small cubes. Mix the chicken cubes with cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Set the meat aside and let it sit for a while.
  • Cutting vegetables: Cut the peppers into small pieces after removing the seeds and washing them. Wash the spring onions and cut them into rings. Peel the ginger and chop it finely or grate it.
  • Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, mix the ketchup with 5 tablespoons water, sambal oelek, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil and 1 teaspoon brown sugar until smooth.
  • Roast sesame seeds: Roast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  • Fry the chicken: Heat the oil in a deep pan or wok and fry the chicken cubes on all sides for about 5 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
  • Fry vegetables: Briefly fry the peppers, spring onions and ginger in the frying fat. Deglaze everything with the prepared ketchup sauce. Add the chicken again and let everything simmer for about 2 minutes. Season the dish with soy sauce.
  • Prepare rice: Prepare the express rice according to the instructions on the package.
  • Serving: Wash the coriander and chop it roughly. Serve the chicken sprinkled with sesame seeds and coriander. Serve with the rice.

Preparation in Thermomix®:

  • Prepare chicken: Cut the chicken fillet into small cubes. Put the meat in the mixing bowl with the cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Mix for 10 seconds / speed 2 / reverse. Take the meat out of the mixing bowl and put it to one side. Rinse the bowl briefly.
  • Cutting vegetables: Put the peppers in the mixing bowl and chop for 5 seconds/speed 4. Transfer to a bowl. Cut the spring onions into rings, peel the ginger and chop in the mixing bowl for 3 seconds/speed 7.
  • Prepare the sauce: Put tomato ketchup, 5 tbsp water, sambal oelek, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil and 1 tsp brown sugar into the mixing bowl and mix for 10 seconds / speed 3. Transfer to a bowl.
  • Roast sesame seeds: Roast sesame seeds in a pan without fat. Remove and set aside.
  • Fry the chicken: Pour oil into the mixing bowl, add chicken and fry for 5 minutes / Varoma / speed 1 / reverse. Remove chicken and set aside.Alternatively, you can also use a pan.
  • Fry vegetables: Put the peppers, spring onions and ginger in the mixing bowl and fry for 5 minutes / Varoma / speed 1 / reverse. Add the ketchup sauce and simmer for a further 2 minutes / 100°C / speed 1 / reverse. Add the chicken again and heat for another 2 minutes / 100°C / speed 1 / reverse.
  • Prepare rice: Prepare express rice according to the instructions on the packet or heat it in the Varoma insert of the Thermomix.
  • Serving: Sprinkle chicken with sesame seeds and coriander and serve with rice.

Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 7G | Protein: 38G | Fat: 6G | Sugar: 4G

Quick sweet and sour chicken

FAQ about quick sweet and sour chicken

Can I prepare the sweet and sour chicken with other meat?

Yes, you can replace the chicken with pork fillet or turkey breast. Make sure to cut the meat into roughly equal-sized pieces so that it cooks evenly.

How can I make the dish spicier?

To make it spicier, you can add fresh chili peppers to the sambal oelek. Simply fry them together with the ginger.

What goes well as a side dish with sweet and sour chicken?

In addition to rice, fried rice or Asian noodles are also excellent side dishes.

Can I prepare the dish in advance and reheat it later?

Yes, the dish can be prepared in advance and reheated later. It can even gain in flavor if left to marinate for a while.

Is the dish suitable for children?

If you reduce the spiciness by using less sambal oelek or leaving it out altogether, the dish is also suitable for children.

Can I make the recipe vegetarian?

Yes, just replace the chicken with tofu or seitan and prepare it the same way. You can also add more vegetables as you like.

 

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Theres from gernekochen.de

This post comes from: Theres

Mrs. Gernekochen is a teacher in Life 1.0 at a comprehensive school and loves her job.

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Last Update: 18 September 2024