Chicken in Sweet and Sour Sauce

I love recipes with a balance of sweet and sour flavours. Chicken in Sweet and Sour sauce in Pakistan is a Cantonese inspired dish and very popular in restaurants. Like the Cantonese cuisine, Pakistani Chinese food has mostly chicken stock based sauces and uses seasonings like soya sauce, hot sauce, oyster sauce and vinegar quite generously. The history of Chinese food in Pakistan goes back more than half a century. Now it’s so popular with families and kids that fusion recipes of local and Chinese dishes are easily available in many restaurants, like Chinese samosa and Chinese Pulao… and this blend of cuisines is delicious. Enjoy !

For Chicken in Sweet and Sour Sauce:

1/2 kg boneless chicken cubes
3 tablespoons corn flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Vegetable oil for shallow frying

For Sweet and Sour Sauce :

3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 big onion, cut into cubes
1 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons hot sauce or to taste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water
2 tablespoons corn flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 stalks spring onions

This Is What You Do :

Mix corn flour, baking soda, salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir in chicken cubes and coat well with flour mix. Set aside for 15 minutes or till you prepare the sauce.
For the sauce heat oil in a saucepan, add crushed garlic. Add onion cubes and stir fry. Add chicken stock, ketchup, hot sauce, worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and black pepper. Cook the sauce for 2-3 minutes. Dilute corn flour in 1 cup water and add to the sauce. Let it simmer on medium heat, stir till the sauce thickens to desired consistency.
Heat 1/4 cup oil in a frying pan, add chicken cubes. Stir fry till the cubes are golden and crisp.
Add to the sauce right before serving, garnish with spring onions and serve hot with steamed rice or egg and vegetable fried rice.

If you like more sauce to pour over your rice, just double the quantity of sauce ingredients. Enjoy!