No Money for Takeout? No Problem!
We used to get sweet & sour chicken takeout once a week or so, often from an amazing Chinese restaurant in our neighborhood; you know, when people could actually afford to eat out. But with rising costs everywhere, we had to pull back and do more cooking at home.
Because our evenings are busy, I don’t have a lot of time to get dinner on the table. It takes about 20 minutes if I use pre-cut chicken. Of course, it will never compete with the crispy sweet & sour chicken we got from the restaurant, but it’s fast, it’s cheap, and it looks like I spent way more time on it than I did. It may not be perfectly authentic, but it’s great for busy people.
If pre-cut chicken isn’t available, you can save time by cutting up a few chicken breasts, portioning them into freezer bags, and then freezing them for later use. Pull a bag out a few hours before you need it to thaw in the fridge.
What You Need
The ingredient list for a basic stir-fry is pretty simple: it’s generally a protein, vegetables, and either rice or noodles.
Ingredients:
- Rice: Generally, any long-grain white rice will do. I’m partial to Jasmine rice.
- Chicken breast: To save time, I get pre-cut chicken from the grocery store’s meat section.
- Bell peppers, washed
- Canned chunk pineapple
- Sweet & sour sauce
Gear:
- The biggest skillet you own or a wok if you have one
- Saucepan or rice cooker
- Spatula
- Cutting board
- Large bowl
- Sharp knife
- Can opener
Directions:
Start by cooking the rice according to the package directions.
Next, wash and chop your peppers into 1-inch pieces while the rice is cooking, then add them to the pan. Drain a can of pineapple chunks and add them to the peppers.
Pat a chicken breast dry (to get a better sear) and cut it into small pieces – about an inch – and set aside. If you’re using pre-cut chicken, you can move right to cooking the peppers and pineapple.
Turn the burner on medium-high heat and stir the peppers and pineapple. Cook them for about 5 minutes. The goal is to get them crisp-tender, which is a sweet spot where they’re not raw but not mushy either. You want them to have a little bite, not puree.
When the peppers and pineapple are cooked, transfer them to a bowl and set aside.
Add the cut chicken to the pan. Stir the chicken for about 7 minutes until the centers are white. You can check to see if they’re done by cutting the largest piece in half with the spatula. If it’s still pink, cook it a couple of minutes longer. Salmonella probably won’t kill you, but you might wish it would already.
Add the peppers and pineapple back into the pan, then stir to combine.
Add the sauce and stir well.
Top the rice with the chicken and pepper mixture.
Mix it up by experimenting with different sauces and vegetables, or by adding peanuts or cashews. What is your favorite combo? Let me know in the comments!
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Prep Time: 20 Minutes | Servings: 4
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 3/4 pound pre-cut chicken or 1 chicken breast
- 1-3 bell peppers, washed
- 20-ounce can chunk pineapple, drained
- 14.5-ounce jar sweet & sour sauce or 2 cups homemade sauce
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- Chop pepper(s) into 1-inch chunks and place in pan.
- Cut chicken breast into 1-inch pieces, or use pre-cut chicken. Set aside.
- Add pineapple chunks to peppers.
- Cook pepper/pineapple mixture, stirring frequently until peppers are crisp-tender; 4-6 minutes.
- Remove pepper/pineapple mixture from pan and set aside in large bowl.
- Add cut chicken to the pan and cook until cooked through, stirring frequently; about 7 minutes.
- Add pepper/pineapple mixture to the chicken and stir to combine.
- Add sauce and stir to combine.
- Serve over cooked rice.
