Delicious, crispy fried sweet and sour chicken that is healthier than takeaway fried chicken! Quick, simple and yummy, just how we like it! It has a create crunch, balanced out by the succulent internal texture and the sticky sauce. I really enjoy making this chicken recipe, it is so easy and delicious, and far healthier than fried chicken from a fast-food joint! I make this recipe for my family often, they really love it, and it is a great, flavourful way to add protein to your dishes!
You could also use chicken thigh here. It will give you a more succulent chicken bite afterwards. I just prefer using chicken breast because it saves me from having to remove all the extra fat. Alternatively, you could also use Quorn fillets, firm tofu or tempeh.
I choose to add salt and pepper to the batter because it just helps to add more flavour. You can choose to keep the batter plain, but I would recommend adding some seasonings here, so that you aren’t just relying on the sauce to create all the flavour.
Additionally, if you want to use a vegan protein source and make this entire recipe vegan, you can substitute the egg for a 1/2 cup almond milk. The batter may not fry as well, but you will still get that crispy exterior.
Rather than mixing the flour into the egg here, you could also keep them separate in 2 different bowls. In this case, you can dip the chicken into the egg and then into the flour separately. You can actually keep dipping the chicken into the 2 bowls to build up the layer of batter, making the end result even crunchier. I just chose in this recipe, to make the batter mix in one bowl to save some mess and extra steps! It’s also a great way to reduce the washing up!
What you could eat your sweet and sour chicken with:
- A rice bowl (like how I did here)
- In a stir-fry
- In a quinoa bowl
- Alongside some crunchy potato wedges
- Just on their own!
- With some noodles
Make sure that all your pieces of chicken are fully coated, to ensure you have an even and consistent batter. If you enjoy this recipe, I recommend you try my crispy fried butterfly chicken, or my smoky fried tofu recipes. You can interchange these protein options and have them on rotation in your dishes. I love all these fried recipes, because they are far healthier than fast-food fried recipes, and they are so customisable!
I would recommend frying your chicken until it is pretty much fully cooked before adding in your sauce. This way, you can ensure that everything is completely safe to eat, and you are just briefly frying in the sauce until it becomes sticky and fully coats all your chicken. You will find that due to the sugar content of the sauce, it will become thicker, stickier and caramelise very quickly. Keep a close eye on it, mixing and stirring constantly to ensure nothing burns and that everything is evenly covered.
I used a sweet and sour sauce in this recipe because I think that the tanginess works really well and pairs perfectly with the crunchiness of the nuggets! But you are also more than welcome to try out this recipe with a low FODMAP sweet chilli sauce recipe I created! It would work just as well, but you may find that the sauce coating is not as thick as using a low FODMAP sweet and sour sauce. I use the sweet chilli sauce when I want to add some heat to my dish (since the sweet chilli sauce has fresh chillies-yum!).
You want to take the chicken off the heat once you have a very golden-brown looking batter. Because the sauce will make the colour change, do not be tempted to take your chicken off the heat too early. I recommend cutting a piece of chicken open to ensure that it is completely cooked through and that it is no longer pink. You should pick one of the larger pieces of chicken to check, because they take longer to cook. So you know that if the bigger pieces are ready, the small ones most likely are too!
Ingredients: (single serve)
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp gluten free flour
- 5 tbsp low FODMAP sweet and sour sauce
- Salt
- Pepper
Method:
Step 1: chop up your chicken into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
Step 2: whisk up your egg, add the salt and pepper. Mix.
Step 3: add your flour to the egg. Mix until fully combined and there are no more lumps.
Step 4: add your chicken to your egg and flour bowl. Mix until all your chicken is coated.
Step 5: fry your chicken in a little oil until the batter is golden brown and the chicken is fully cooked.
Step 6: add in your low FODMAP sweet and sour sauce. You could also use a low FODMAP sweet chilli sauce (check out my recipe for this!). Fry on a low heat until the sauce becomes thick and sticky.
I added my sweet and sour fried chicken to a nutritious rice bowl with steamed spinach, grated carrot and a soft-boiled egg. You can keep your sweet and sour fried chicken in an air-tight container for 24h in the fridge.
Send me pictures of your sweet and sour chicken recreations! My Instagram page is TheLazyLowFODMAP, come join the community and tag me in your pictures so that I can see them!
