This easy recipe for sweet and sour chicken is made with a delicious sweet and sour plum sauce, healthy stir fried vegetables and slices of fresh, juicy plums. If you prefer your sweet and sour chicken without pineapple then this plum chicken recipe is definitely worth a try!!
In a small bowl mix together tomato ketchup, plum sauce, honey, sweet chilli sauce, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Stir together well then put to one side.
Place a large pan or wok on a medium heat and add ½ tablespoon oil. When the oil is hot add the garlic and cubed raw chicken. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned all over.
Keeping the pan on a medium heat add the red peppers, yellow peppers and tomatoes to the chicken. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until the vegetables start to go soft and the chicken is cooked through.
1 Yellow bell pepper, 1 Red bell pepper, 2 Medium tomatoes roughly chopped
Next add the freshly sliced plums and the sweet and sour sauce made earlier. Mix together well and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for a minute or so until heated through.
100 g plums
Serve up in bowls (with rice if desired) and top with sliced spring onions and chilli flakes.
3 Spring onions sliced, Sprinkle of chilli flakes, Rice
Video
Notes
Chicken: Swap in for your preferred meat; try sweet and sour pork or hot and sour fish soup made with prawns and noodles.Plums: For a more traditional version swap the plums for pineapple.Vegetables: Add more vegetables or swap for different ones like carrots and onions. For a vegetarian sweet and sour recipe, leave out the meat and bulk up with extra veg; try with baby corn and chunks of courgette.Fruit: To keep the fruit chunky in the finished dish make sure to add the plums (or other preferred fruit) just before the sauce. This will allow the fruit to be heated but still maintain its shape. Over cooking will cause the fruit to soften and even dissolve into the sauce.Toppings: Spring onions and chilli flakes are optional,. You could also try topping with sesame seeds or chopped cashew nuts. Simmering: Simmer the dish gently and until just warmed through before serving. Over heating or boiling will ruin the sauce.What is sweet and sour sauce made of? For a dish that is similar to that in Western Chinese restaurants, the sauce is usually made with vinegar, tomato ketchup and soy sauce. For this recipe I also included a couple of tablespoons of jarred plum sauce to add to the sweetness and enhance the flavour of the fresh plums.How to make Hong Kong sweet and sour? For a sweet and sour chicken that is Hong Kong style you will just need to alter the way the chicken is cooked. In this recipe the chicken is stir fried in a little oil. Hong Kong sweet and sour chicken uses crispy chicken made by coating the raw chicken in a batter or in breadcrumbs and then deep frying until golden.How to store? Store in an air tight container for up to 3 days in the fridge or 3 months on the freezer. Make sure the dish is fully cooled before storing in the fridge or freezer. When reheating make sure the sweet and sour chicken is thoroughly defrosted first and then heat through in a large pan or wok until piping hot.