Sweet and Sour Chicken

This delicious sweet and sour chicken recipe is perfect for a quick meal anytime of the week. Our red pepper jelly is used to create a unique, flavorful, and easy sweet and sour sauce. Add in chicken and vegetables and you have a meal. Your family will love this treat and it will become a crowd favorite.

fork and spoon by plate of sweet and sour chicken on metal tray

Sweet and sour chicken is a common staple on most Asian restaurant menus. It is an easy treat to make at home too. Pair it with rice or noodles and you have a complete meal. If you are not into chicken you can always substitute other proteins such as shrimp, pork, or tofu into this recipe. It is a great recipe because you can adapt it to your tastes when it comes to the protein and vegetables in it.

Our red pepper jelly is used to create a great sweet and sour sauce to use for your Asian food nights. This red pepper jelly is made with sweet red bell peppers to make a sweet and savory jelly that can be used for a variety of purposes including being the perfect addition to your Asian food nights.

This is an easy recipe that is perfect to adapt to your tastes as a meal in itself or you can use the sauce recipe as a dipping sauce for your egg rolls, wontons, and much more.

How to Make a Sweet and Sour Sauce

Now it is time to make the pineapple sweet and sour sauce. This is a great recipe that can be used as a dipping sauce too. In a medium bowl combine and whisk together 1 cup of pineapple juice (you can use the juice from a can of pineapple tidbits and save the tidbits for the meal), 1 jar of Chugwater Chili Red Pepper Jelly, 3 Tbs ketchup, 2 Tbs brown sugar, and 2 Tbs soy sauce. The sauce will seem a little runny, but we will thicken it after we add it with the chicken and vegetables later.

homemade sweet and sour sauce on cutting board

Let’s Get Cooking

Cut up the chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks. Place in a medium skillet with 3 Tbs vegetable oil and 1 Tbs minced garlic cook the meat until it is not pink anymore. If you like sweet and sour pork you can cook up pork chunks instead of chicken. Or add shrimp or tofu to the recipe if you wish.

Chicken and garlic in pan

Prepare the Vegetables and Fruit

Cut ½ onion and 1 bell pepper any color into bite-sized pieces. If you like water chestnuts, carrots, or other vegetables in your meal you can prepare them into bite-sized pieces and add them to the meal.

Cook Vegetables and Fruit

Once you have prepared the vegetables it is time to add them to your meal. Add in the onion, bell pepper pieces, and pineapple tidbits with the cooked chicken. Cook until the onion and pepper become tender. Next, it is time to add the sauce and finish the meal.

cooked chicken, raw bell peppers, onion, and pineapple pieces in pan

Next, Add the Sauce and Finish

It is time to add the sweet and sour sauce to the meat and vegetables. Add the sauce to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes then add a cornstarch slurry (about 3 Tbs cornstarch with ½ cup of water) and stir to thicken. Once it has thickened you are ready to serve and eat.

sweet and sour sauce added to meat and veggies in pan

How to Serve Sweet and Sour Chicken

Now it is time to serve the sweet and sour chicken. Pair this dish with a variety of side dishes including steamed rice, fried rice, noodles, salad, and much more. You can host an Asian food night and serve the sweet and sour chicken, wontons, egg rolls, pot stickers, and much more.

sweet and sour chicken with rice on plate

Now that you have learned a new recipe using our red pepper jelly, here are a few others that you should try out.

sweet and sour sauce, sweet and sour chicken, asian meal, pineapple sweet and sour sauce, chicken dinner, red pepper jelly

Dinner

Asian

Yield:4-6

Author:Katie Kernan