There's no need to miss out on your favorite Chinese food dish with this gluten-free sweet and sour chicken recipe. The crispy chicken thighs are coated with a sticky and tangy Asian sauce. This is restaurant-quality Chinese food made with clean ingredients at home!
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: chicken recipes, chinese food, sweet and sour chicken
To prepare the crispy chicken, heat half of the vegetable oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
Add the cornstarch, salt, and fresh black pepper to a bowl and whisk the ingredients together.
Pat dry the chicken and then add half of it to the cornstarch mixture to fully coat each piece. Add the coated chicken to the hot oil in a single layer. Do not overcrowd the chicken. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side until all the pieces are lightly browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan with a slotted spatula and place it on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add the remaining oil to the pan and repeat the process with the second half of the chicken.
Add all the sauce ingredients to a large measuring cup or medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine well. Set aside.
Wipe the pan used to cook the chicken with a paper towel to remove excess oil and burned bits. Add 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan and heat it over medium-high heat.
Once the pan is hot, add the sliced bell peppers and cook for about 2-3 minutes until slightly softened. Add the pineapple to the pan, then pour the sauce over the peppers and pineapple and stir the mixture for about 2-3 minutes until it's bubbly.
Add the cooked chicken pieces. Gently fold the ingredients together to coat all the chicken pieces with the sauce. Stir frequently as the sauce will slightly thicken as it coats the chicken. Lower the heat once the sauce is to its desired sticky consistency. Serve immediately.
Notes
Serve over white or brown rice and with additional vegetables for a filling meal.Cornstarch is almost always gluten-free (check labels), but if you can't eat corn products, you can use tapioca starch instead. Tapioca may have a gummier end result.Use chicken thighs if possible, but you can make it with chicken breasts instead.Canned pineapple is easier to work with, but you could use fresh pineapple.Use any colored bell peppers you have on hand.If the sauce is too runny for your taste, add a cornstarch slurry (1 tsp of cornstarch combined with 2 tbsp of water) to the end mixture, turn up the heat, and continuously mix the sauce until it thickens. Lower the heat and serve immediately.Add chopped green onions and sesame seeds on top for additional garnish and flavor.