Mary Berry Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

I say this with complete conviction — this sweet and sour chicken is better than the takeaway version. I know that is a strong claim and I stand by it.

The sauce is balanced properly — genuinely sweet, genuinely sour, not cloying, not artificially lurid. The chicken is crispy in a light batter rather than coated in a thick doughy shell. And it is on the table in thirty minutes.

The version that arrives from most takeaways — neon orange, sticky-sweet, with chicken in a casing of thick batter — is a very different thing from a properly made sweet and sour.

This one uses a light cornflour coating on the chicken, a sauce made from scratch with pineapple, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and a small amount of tomato ketchup for colour and a gentle sweetness, and a collection of vegetables that give freshness and colour without being an afterthought.

My children request this at least once a week. I am not complaining.

The Sauce Is Everything

A great sweet and sour sauce has four distinct flavour notes working together — sweet, sour, salty, and umami. Remove or reduce any one of them and the sauce feels flat and one-dimensional.

Sweet: Pineapple juice and a little caster sugar.
Sour: Rice wine vinegar — sharper and more fragrant than white wine vinegar.
Salty: Soy sauce.
Umami: A small amount of tomato ketchup and the pineapple itself.

The cornflour slurry thickens everything to the right glossy, coating consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon and cling to the chicken and vegetables when everything is tossed together.

Ingredients for Mary Berry Sweet and Sour Chicken

For the Crispy Chicken

• 600g boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 3cm pieces
• 1 large egg white
• 4 tbsp cornflour
• ½ tsp fine salt
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• Sunflower oil for frying — at least 2cm depth in a wok or deep frying pan

For the Sweet and Sour Sauce

• 4 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp pineapple juice (from a tin of pineapple in juice)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 3 tbsp cold water

For the Vegetables and Pineapple

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into 2cm pieces
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into 2cm pieces
• 1 red onion, cut into 2cm chunks
• 200g tinned pineapple chunks in juice, drained
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 2cm fresh ginger, finely grated
• 4 spring onions, cut into 3cm lengths

To Serve

• Steamed jasmine rice or egg fried rice
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Extra sliced spring onions

How to Make Mary Berry Sweet and Sour Chicken

Step 1 — Mix the Sauce

Combine the tomato ketchup, rice wine vinegar, pineapple juice, soy sauce, caster sugar, and sesame oil in a small bowl or jug. Stir well until the sugar has dissolved. Taste — it should be clearly sweet, clearly sour, and clearly savoury. Adjust any element if needed. Have the cornflour slurry ready separately. Set both aside.

Step 2 — Coat the Chicken

In a large bowl, whisk the egg white lightly until slightly foamy — not stiff. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat. Add the cornflour, salt, and white pepper and toss again until every piece of chicken is coated in a light, even cornflour-and-egg-white coating. It should look pale and slightly floury.

Step 3 — Fry the Chicken

Heat the sunflower oil in a wok or large, deep frying pan to 180°C — or until a small piece of bread dropped in sizzles and turns golden in about 30 seconds.

Fry the chicken pieces in batches — do not crowd the oil. Cook for three to four minutes per batch until golden and crispy on the outside and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining batches and make the sauce.

Step 4 — Stir Fry the Vegetables

Pour the oil from the frying back out leaving just a thin coating in the wok — or use a separate wok or large frying pan. Heat over a high heat until very hot.

Add the garlic and ginger — stir for 30 seconds. Add the onion and peppers — stir fry for two to three minutes until beginning to soften but still with crunch. Add the pineapple chunks and spring onions — stir for one more minute.

Step 5 — Add the Sauce

Pour the sweet and sour sauce mixture into the wok. Let it bubble for one minute. Give the cornflour slurry a stir and pour it in. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens and turns glossy — about one to two minutes. It should coat the back of a spoon nicely.

Step 6 — Add the Chicken and Serve

Add the crispy chicken pieces to the wok. Toss gently to coat everything in the glossy sauce. Serve immediately over jasmine rice — the chicken stays crispiest if served within two minutes of being sauced.

My Top Tips For Perfect Sweet and Sour Chicken

Fry the chicken in batches at the right temperature. Crowding the oil drops the temperature and gives pale, slightly greasy chicken rather than golden, crispy chicken. Small batches, hot oil, proper colour before lifting out.

Have everything ready before you start the sauce. The sauce comes together in two to three minutes of high-heat cooking. The vegetables need to be cut, the sauce needs to be mixed, the cornflour slurry needs to be ready. Stir frying waits for nobody.

The egg white in the coating is important. It gives the cornflour something to adhere to and gives the finished crust a slightly lighter, crispier texture than egg yolk or a whole egg would. Do not use a whole egg — the yolk makes the coating heavier.

Serve immediately. Sweet and sour chicken stays crispy for about two minutes after being tossed in the sauce. After that the sauce softens the coating. It still tastes wonderful — just not as crispy. If feeding a crowd, sauce the chicken in batches rather than all at once.

Taste the sauce before adding the chicken. The sauce should taste clearly sweet and clearly sour in the wok. Once the chicken and vegetables are added, the flavour perception changes. Get it right in the pan.

Serving Suggestions

Over jasmine rice with extra spring onions and sesame seeds — this is the right way. With egg fried rice for something more substantial. As part of a homemade Chinese takeaway spread with spring rolls, prawn crackers, and stir-fried vegetables.

How to Store Sweet and Sour Chicken

In the fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. The coating softens on storing but the flavour is excellent. Reheat in a hot wok with a splash of water.

Freezing is not recommended — the coating does not survive freezing and defrosting well.

Mary Berry Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

Mary Berry's sweet and sour chicken is crispy, saucy, and completely satisfying — a homemade version that genuinely beats the takeaway.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings: 4 Portions

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Calories: 420

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• Crispy Chicken:
• 600 g boneless skinless chicken in 3cm pieces
• 1 large egg white lightly whisked
• 4 tbsp cornflour
• ½ tsp salt ½ tsp white pepper
• Sunflower oil for frying
• Sweet and Sour Sauce:
• 4 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp pineapple juice
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
• Vegetables:
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper in 2cm pieces
• 1 red onion in 2cm chunks
• 200 g tinned pineapple chunks drained
• 2 garlic cloves finely sliced
• 2 cm fresh ginger finely grated
• 4 spring onions in 3cm lengths
• To Serve:
• Jasmine rice sesame seeds, spring onions

CHECK THIS RECIPE  Mary Berry Slow Roasted Lamb Leg Recipe

Method

 

1. Mix sauce ingredients (except cornflour slurry) — stir until sugar dissolves. Set aside with cornflour slurry ready separately.
2. Toss chicken in egg white. Add cornflour, salt, and pepper — toss to coat evenly.
3. Deep fry chicken in batches at 180°C — 3–4 minutes per batch until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm.
4. In a hot wok with a little oil, fry garlic and ginger 30 seconds. Add peppers and onion — stir fry 2–3 minutes. Add pineapple and spring onions — 1 minute.
5. Pour in sauce — bubble 1 minute. Add cornflour slurry — stir until sauce is glossy and coating. Taste and adjust.
6. Add crispy chicken — toss gently to coat. Serve immediately over rice.

Notes

Fry chicken in small batches at the right temperature — crowding gives pale, greasy results.

Have everything ready before starting the sauce — stir frying moves fast.

Use egg white only in the coating — gives a lighter, crispier result than whole egg.

Serve immediately after saucing — the coating stays crispiest in the first 2 minutes.

Taste the sauce before adding chicken and adjust sweet, sour, and salt to your preference.

Do not freeze — the coating does not survive defrosting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use pork instead of chicken?

Yes — pork fillet or pork tenderloin cut into 3cm pieces works beautifully with exactly the same coating and sauce. It is arguably even more traditional.

Can I bake the chicken instead of frying?

You can — brush coated chicken pieces with oil and bake at 200°C for 20 to 25 minutes turning once. It will not be as crispy as the fried version but the flavour of the sauce more than compensates.

Can I use fresh pineapple?

Yes — fresh pineapple is excellent in this dish. Cut into 2cm chunks and add with the peppers. For the juice in the sauce, squeeze a little from the fresh pineapple or use pure pineapple juice from a carton.

Why is my sauce too thin?

Either not enough cornflour slurry was added or the sauce was not brought to a full boil before the slurry was added. The cornflour needs heat to activate — make sure the sauce is boiling before stirring in the slurry.

Can I make this without deep frying?

Yes — pan fry in a shallow layer of oil over a medium-high heat for four to five minutes per side until golden. Less dramatic than deep frying but perfectly good.