Reviewed: May 24, 2009

My first sucessful sweet and sour chicken. This was excellent. Easy to make. The sweet and sour sauce was perfect in flavor. Hubby really liked it - not to sweet, just right. I added yellow and red food color to make it look orange. I also added green and red peppers and pineapple chuncks to the sweet and sour sauce. I did have to add more cornstarch and water to the sauce to get the consistancy that I like,we like our sauce a little bit thicker. I only used 4 chicken breasts and seasoned as other reviewers suggested. I also did not have self-rising flour and added baking powder and salt to regular flour. I put the cut up chicken in the batter and refrigerated for 1/2 hour before frying, don't know why I did this. I just remember doing this when I made the coconut chicken from this site so the batter would stick to the shrimp better. The batter was nice and thick and stuck to the chicken perfectly. I don't have a deep fryer, so I just put oil in a pan and fried each side until golden brown. This made plenty, fed four adults who each had 2 good size helpings and there is left overs for at least 2. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for the great recipe.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

TIE

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Chicago, Illinois, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: May 21, 2009

This was amazing! I have a small fryer, so it took a long time to make all that this makes. I substituted chicken with pork chop cut into cubes, I didn't have any chicken. The recipe was really easy. But I prepared this with an egg roll recipe that I got from this website, and it took me a total of about 3 hours to completely prepare and cook. The sweet and sour sauce was perfect. I didn't have orange food coloring so I used red, it really doesn't change how it tastes anyway. It reheats deliciously. I'm so excited to enjoy my favorite ethnic food without spending a fortune. I took some advice from the reviews: I seasoned the meat, covered, and refrigerated for a couple hours, I didn't have self-rising flour so I added salt and baking powder to flour before mixing ingredients for batter. Also, a trick of mine to drain meat after frying is to take cooling racks and place them on cookie sheets. It keeps them from sticking and overall tastes better. The other way is a waste of papertowels anyway. Definatly a keeper.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Chiffon

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 30, 2009

This was the first time I have ever fried something at home, and it turned out awesome. The batter on the chicken really was like something you would get from a restaraunt and the sauce complimented the chicken really well. I took others advice and seasoned the chicken before battering.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

CHAM9858

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Boise, Idaho, USA

Living In: Kennewick, Washington, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 25, 2009

quick and easy recipe and the result was very tasty.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

swilson102419

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 23, 2009

This recipe was uber bland. I had to add so much more to this recipe. Also, the sauce definitely needed more cornstarch! It was still pretty watery. With a million other additions to it, it tasted decent.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

cookingforreal

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Wesley Chapel, Florida, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 21, 2009

This was really good. However, it is time consuming, but worth it. I recommend making the sauce first, and let it sit on the stove. Also, I think the sweet/sour sauce could stand to be a tad stronger in taste. (o: I will make it again. My kids devoured it!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Kim

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Jacksonville, Florida, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 18, 2009

Oh my gosh, this tastes amazing! I've never taken the time to rate another recipe, but this one is so worth trying. It's just like good chinese take out. I only made a few minor changes - mostly from other reviewers suggestions. I seasoned the raw chicken with salt, garlic salt & pepper and it sat in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes before I cooked it while I prepped other foods. I used just over half of the vinegar in the sauce and I whisked the cornstarch and water together before pouring into the sauce to avoid lumps. (Make the sauce before you start frying the chicken and it will thicken up very nicely.) I stir-fried green pepper, onion, carrots and snow peas instead of serving raw veggies. I fried the chicken in batches and put on a cookie sheet in the oven to keep warm while frying the rest. I served it over rice, egg rolls & home-made crab rangoon. This is soooo good! Try it!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

nmnelson

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 16, 2009

This was a great recipe for an at home dinner with a take-out taste. A few things that might be helpful to others. Do make the sauce first (it will keep its heat for a pretty long time). If you use pineapple chunks that are packed in juice (not syrup), you will need to add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup more sugar to the sauce (yes, it should say keep juice for sauce and the amount of sugar added depends on how sweet you are used to). Do mix water and cornstarch together and mix in AS SOON AS the sugar mixture comes to a rolling boil and then let boil a few mins (2-3) before turning off heat. Oh, I did not have orange food color so I used five drops red and two drops yellow and ended up with a color similar to that at restaurants. I halved the chicken (three large breast) and batter (used AP flour with more salt and some baking powder) with great results. Last of all, I sauteed half a red bell pepper and one carrot for about 5-7 mins and added my pineapple and cooked 2 more mins. I served this mixture, sauce, chicken, and steamed rice in separate bowls so that people could mix to their liking. Really wonderful and worth the time! Happy cooking!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Holley

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Cornelia, Georgia, USA

Living In: Cartersville, Georgia, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 14, 2009

Better than any chinese take-away I know of.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Michael

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 9, 2009

This was awesome!! My husband loved it and said it was the best thing I ever cooked.[that is saying alot, because I am a good cook] It wasent that easy to follow the way it is written, so I took the advise from the other reviews, and when I wrote out the recipe, I changed it up a bit to make it step by step. The only thing i changed in the recipe was to add raw{mild] onions with the green pepper. I also think if you use your time wisely, it wouldnt be as difficult to make......Well worth the time, tasted better than the restaurant chicken because its fresh. Makes too much as written though. BRAVO!!!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Terri

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Antwerp, Ohio, USA

Living In: Kimmell, Indiana, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 8, 2009

I used shrimp instead of chicken and stir-fried it with the green pepper, instead of frying. Then I tossed the shrimp, green peppers and pineapple in the sauce mixture, before serving. I was pleased to get the color mixture spot on, but will make the sauce a little thicker next time. I served with jasmine rice. I'll definitely try it with chicken sometime, but am not looking forward to the work!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

CARMEN464

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Miami, Florida, USA

Living In: New York, New York, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 8, 2009

My family loved this! The chicken turned out just like the restaurants! I prepared it just as the recipe states except I added garlic salt and pepper to the chicken before I mixed it with the coating. Will definitely be making this again!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

DREAM9379

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Kellerton, Iowa, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 7, 2009

I've always wondered how this was made and this recipe was the exact thing I was looking for. I wouldn't change anything, but if you want to add something, season the chicken.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

DYMPLES805

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Orlando, Florida, USA

Living In: Ellensburg, Washington, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 7, 2009

As said many, many times, this recipe is delicious! I found it very easy, if a very little time consuming. Frying up the chicken did take a little time as I had to do it in batches. We have allergy issues here and eggs are out. So I simply deleted the egg in the tempura batter, it was delicious and light. It seemed to make no difference in the way the batter functioned. For the 3 adults and 2 children in my home, I used only 4 chicken breasts and left the rest of the ingredients the same. This gave us plenty of sauce for the amount of chicken. I also added more veggies to the peppers and pineapple for a more colorful and healthy, if less authentic meal. Kids and adults alike devoured this meal and ate way too much. However we still had some leftovers for my lunch the next day, as well as even more chicken for nuggets!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

claeli69

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Denver, Colorado, USA

Living In: Menlo Park, California, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 29, 2009

Taste like a fresher version of take out.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Ashlie Turner

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 26, 2009

The sauce was excellent. Had some problems with the batter, next time we will just skip the batter part.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

lele

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 26, 2009

Great batter recipe! The result tasted and look like a restaurant quality meal. I tried it with shrimp and it's delicious. My changes: I seasoned the chicken/shrimp with salt and white pepper before I put it in the batter. I added more salt, white pepper and garlic powder than what the recipe says(appr. 1 - 1.5 tsp). Use mixer to combine the batter ingredient to make a thick batter. Caution: for the sauce, watch out with the vinegar - mixed it gradually until it has the sourness that you want.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

DIMOT78

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 26, 2009

A very good Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe. My husband absolutely loves it... much better than most Chinese restaurants. One tip, if you like your chicken tender like me, soak the breasts in buttermilk for a few hours before cooking.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

JENNY23315

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: Poulsbo, Washington, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2009

Amazing as is. Only change I made - double the sauce and omit the food coloring. I also add onion to the peppers. Yum. Love that I have the ingredients on-hand, too. So much cheaper (and probably healthier) than restaurant version!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful