If you love sweet and sour chicken from your local Chinese takeaway, you’re going to love this easy homemade version. It’s a little bit of a cheat’s recipe, using frozen chicken pops, but that’s what makes it so good!
I’ve been experimenting with different ways to use chicken pops, and after sharing my Honey Chicken recipe, a few readers suggested I try making Sweet and Sour Chicken next.
And I’m so glad I listened. It was SO good!
You can absolutely use a jar of sweet and sour sauce to make this even easier, but I made my own sauce using the RecipeTin Eats version as a starting point, with a few little tweaks.
The result is crispy chicken pieces tossed in a sticky sweet and sour sauce, with capsicum, onion and pineapple. Serve it over steamed rice for an easy family dinner.
Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken Pops Recipe
Serves: 4–6 Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: Approximately 20–25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1kg frozen chicken pops
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 capsicums, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 225g tin pineapple pieces in natural juice, juice reserved
- A little oil, for frying
For the sweet and sour sauce
- ½ cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons pineapple juice (from the tin)
- 3 tablespoons tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- 1–2 tablespoons water
Instructions
1. Cook the chicken pops in the air fryer according to the packet instructions until golden and crispy. You can also deep fry or oven bake them if you prefer.
2. While the chicken is cooking, heat a little oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and capsicum and stir-fry until they start to soften.
3. Add the crushed garlic and drained pineapple pieces, and cook for another minute.
4. In a bowl or jug, combine the sugar, red wine vinegar, pineapple juice, tomato sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and oyster sauce. Stir to combine.
5. Pour the sauce into the frying pan with the vegetables and bring to a gentle simmer.
6. In a small bowl, mix the cornflour with 1–2 tablespoons of water until smooth. Pour into the pan, stirring until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy.
7. Once the chicken pops are cooked, sprinkle with a little salt and add them to the pan. Gently toss everything together until the chicken is coated in the sweet and sour sauce.
8. Serve immediately with steamed or fried rice.
Tips for making Sweet and Sour Chicken Pops
Make it even easier: If you’re short on time, skip the homemade sauce and use your favourite jar of sweet and sour sauce instead.
Keep the chicken crispy: Make sure your chicken pops are nice and golden before adding them to the sauce. Toss them through just before serving so they don’t become too soft.
Add extra vegetables: You can easily add carrots or any other stir-fry vegetables you have in the fridge.
Serve with rice: Steamed rice is perfect for soaking up all that delicious sauce, but fried rice would be even better!
An easy fakeaway dinner the whole family will love
I love a good fakeaway dinner, especially when it’s this easy. Using frozen chicken pops saves so much preparation, and the homemade sauce makes it taste like you’ve put in far more effort than you actually have.
This is definitely one I’ll be making again!
