Sweet & Sour Chicken
Chicken with pineapple, peppers and carrot in a glossy, tangy sweet and sour sauce. A takeaway favourite.
makes 23 blocks, about 35p each
- Time
- 35 min20 min prep · 15 min cook
- Makes
- 23 blocks
- Cost per blockPer block
- 35p
- Calories per blockCalories
- 71 kcal
- Spice
- 1 of 5
You’ll need
- 650gchicken breast, 2cm pieces
- 1 × 435g tin (260g drained)pineapple chunks, juice kept
- 2 (320g)red and green peppers, diced
- 200gcarrots, sliced
- 1 (150g)onion, diced
- 3 cloves (15g)garlic
- 15gfresh ginger
- 40gtomato ketchup
- 40mlrice or cider vinegar
- 30glight brown sugar
- 30mlsoy sauce
- 25gcornflour
- 20mlrapeseed oil
- 150mlpineapple juice from the tin
Allergens: Soya, Sulphites. Check the labels on stock cubes, sauces and pastes, as brands vary.
Serve it
Egg-fried or plain rice · Noodles · Prawn crackers on the side
Method
- Step 1: Toss the chicken in half the cornflour. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan over a high heat and fry the chicken until golden; lift out. (6 min)
- Step 2: Stir-fry the onion, peppers and carrot for 4 minutes, then the garlic and ginger for 1 minute.
- Step 3: Mix the pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, sugar, soy and the rest of the cornflour and pour in. Bubble until glossy and thick. (2 min)
- Step 4: Return the chicken with the pineapple and simmer for 4 minutes until cooked through.
- Step 5: Taste for sweet and sour balance, then cool quickly and freeze in 70g blocks.
Hotter: add a sliced red chilli with the peppers, or sriracha to serve.
| kcal | protein | carbs | fat | fibre | salt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per block | 71 | 7.3g | 7.6g | 1.3g | 0.9g | 0.24g |
| Per 3 blocks | 213 | 21.9g | 22.8g | 3.9g | 2.7g | 0.72g |
Cook’s notes
- Keep the veg crisp; they soften more on reheating.
- Add a splash of water when reheating, as the sauce thickens in the freezer.
- Pork loin strips work too.
Serve it
Egg-fried or plain rice · Noodles · Prawn crackers on the side.
Freeze, reheat and serve
- Freeze
- Cool it within two hours, portion it into 70g blocks in a silicone tray, then bag and label them. It keeps for 3 months.
- Reheat
- Microwave 3 blocks, covered, for 1 minute, stir, then heat for another 1 to 2 minutes until piping hot all the way through. Or warm them in a pan with a splash of water. Never refreeze thawed blocks.
- A portion
- 3 blocks (210g) make a dinner for one adult: about 213 kcal and 21.9g protein before rice, bread or potatoes.
Sweet & Sour Chicken questions
Can I use chicken thighs instead of breast?
Thigh fillets work and stay juicier. Cut them to the same size and give them a minute or two longer in the pan.
Can I use fresh pineapple?
Yes, cut into chunks. Without the tin you have no juice, so use 150ml of pineapple juice from a carton for the sauce.
Why coat the chicken in cornflour?
It gives the chicken a light coating that browns quickly and holds on to the sauce. The rest of the cornflour then thickens the sauce to a gloss.
Sauces that go with it
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Updated . Nutrition, costs and yields are estimates. Gluten-free assumes tamari in place of soy sauce.