Takeout made easy, trust me you’ll struggle to go back to takeaways after trying this one. The lemon pepper panko crumb on the chicken adds an extra bit fire to the dish and imo makes it super moorish at the same time.

Ingredients;

Breaded Chicken

  • 4 Chicken Breasts chopped into chunks
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 Handfuls of Plain Flour
  • 100 grams or 1 Box/Pack of Breadcrumbs
  • Zest of 1 Lemon
  • ½ Tbsp. Black Pepper
  • 1 Tsp Sea Salt

Sweet & Sour Sauce

  • 2 Tsp. Cornflour
  • 2 Tins of Pineapple in Juice (450 grams)
  • 5 Tbsp. Ketchup
  • 4 Tbsp. Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
  • 4 Tbsp Light Brown Soft Sugar
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • 1 thumb size piece of Ginger
  • 1 Red Chilli
  • 2 Carrots
  • 2 Red Peppers
  • 1 Shallot
  • 10-15 Cherry Tomatoes

Method;

Pre-heat the oven to 190 Degrees Celsius.

Add a drizzle of Olive Oil onto a large baking tray and with your fingers just ensure the whole tray is lightly covered.

Chop the Chicken Breasts into chunks. Add the Plain Flour to a large shallow bowl. Crack your Egg into another large shallow bowl and whisk it up with a fork. Pour your Breadcrumbs into a 3rd large shallow bowl and add the following; Zest of 1 Lemon, Black Pepper, Sea Salt and mix.

So now for the production line! Line up all your bowls; Flour, Egg & the Breadcrumbs and start by keeping 1 hand dry and one wet. The easiest way to do this is; take a piece of Chicken with your left hand and place it in the Flour bowl ensuring it is covered all over, then place the Floured Chicken into the Egg mixture using the same hand and cover it all over, finally place the Floured/Eggy Chicken into the breadcrumb mixture and use your clean dry right hand to cover it in the Breadcrumbs. Place the Chicken onto the prepared baking sheet. Continue to do this for all the pieces of Chicken until you have a tray full of beautiful crumbed Chicken chunks.

Drizzle a little Olive Oil over all of the coated Chicken and then place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes until crispy!

Now prepare the Sweet & Sour sauce, so start by preparing all the veggies; chop the Peppers & Carrots into bitesize pieces and then finely chop the Shallot and Chilli. If the Pineapple is in rings and not chunks just again chop the pieces into bitesize chunks as well.

In a bowl or jug combine all of the wet ingredients; Ketchup, Soy Sauce, Rice Wine Vinegar, Juice from the Pineapple Tins (all of it!) and then add in the Brown Sugar and mix it all well.

In a pan crush the Garlic Cloves and Grated Ginger along with a little Olive Oil and heat on a medium heat until sizzling. Once sizzling add in all the chopped Vegetables (except for the Pineapple & Tomatoes) and a splash of water to stop them sticking to the base of the pan. After 5 minutes pour in half of the Sauce and allow it to simmer away while the Vegetables soften – about 5 minutes. Next pour in the Cherry Tomatoes (I like to keep them whole) and the chopped Pineapple.

Add in the Cornflour to the remainder of the sauce and mix well, then pour this into the pan and stir. Allow it to cook through on a low heat so it is gently simmering and getting thick until the Chicken is ready.

Remove the Chicken from the Oven and serve with the sauce and some rice.

Tips;

  • Taste the sauce once it comes to a simmer – you may want to add in a pinch of Salt or some Chilli Flakes if you like more of a kick to your Sweet & Sour.
  • You don’t have to Bread the Chicken pieces – you can just cook them in the pan adding it at the start with the Garlic & Ginger. I just Bread it as a healthier option to deep-fried Takeaway Sweet and Sour Chicken!
  • This recipe works with any meat; Chicken, Pork, Prawns or equally delicious without meat and bulking up on more Vegetables!
  • You can add some Fresh Coriander to the sauce before serving – it adds a nice flavour.