Sweet and Sour Chicken Skillet – Quick and Delicious

This quick, Asian-inspired chicken skillet combines crispy chicken, pineapple, bell pepper, and spring onions with a balanced sweet-and-sour sauce. Serve it with fragrant basmati rice for an easy family meal.

Recipe details

• Preparation: 20 minutes
• Cooking: 15 minutes
• Total time: 35 minutes
• Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 500 g chicken breast fillets
• 1 small can pineapple chunks, drained, with 125 ml juice reserved
• 2 spring onions, including the green parts
• 1 red bell pepper
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more if needed
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander, optional

For the marinade

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 1 pinch ground white pepper
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch

For the sauce

• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon water
• 125 ml reserved pineapple juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Drain the pineapple and reserve 125 ml of its juice.
2. Combine the soy sauce, salt, and white pepper for the marinade. Add the chicken, then mix in the beaten egg.
3. Add 5 tablespoons of cornstarch and stir until the chicken is evenly coated. The cornstarch helps create a crisp surface during frying.
4. Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a nonstick or cast-iron skillet, ideally about 26 cm wide. Fry the chicken in two batches over medium-high heat. Let each piece cook for about one minute before turning so that a crust can form. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.
5. Dice the bell pepper and slice the spring onions into fine rings.
6. Add a little more oil to the skillet if necessary. Cook the bell pepper and spring onions over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
7. Whisk together the lime juice, salt, brown sugar, tomato paste, ketchup, soy sauce, water, and pineapple juice. Stir in the cornstarch last, mixing until no lumps remain.
8. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and simmer briefly until it thickens. If it becomes too thick, add water one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
9. Return the chicken to the skillet and add the pineapple chunks. Stir gently and heat for about 2 minutes.
10. Sprinkle with fresh coriander if desired and serve with basmati rice.

Cooking tips

Use enough oil to cover the base of the skillet by roughly 3–5 mm. Too little oil can cause the cornstarch coating to stick and separate from the chicken. If using a skillet wider than 26 cm, add approximately one extra tablespoon of oil.

The lime provides a mild acidity. For a sharper sweet-and-sour flavor, add up to 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar to the sauce, tasting as you go.