Sweet and Sour Chicken Tenders

Make these sweet and sour chicken tenders at home! A fantastic crispy chicken bites bathed in a vibrant, tangy-sweet sauce. A perfect mix between Sticky sweet & sour glaze and juicy chicken! Serve over fluffy steamed rice for an easy, quick dinner!

Low-key quick dinner option

Sweet and Sour Chicken tenders at home! tender yet crispy chicken strips with Chinese favorite, sweet and sour sauce will bring a new zest to your cooking, it’s so delicious, Who needs takeout when you can make this in the comfort of your own home?

Perfect for a comforting dinner at home or even a low-key date night, this sweet and sour chicken tender is a great dish for any occasion.

Packed with a ton of flavor and easy to make, this is sure to be a go-to dish when you’re craving delicious food. Plus, it tastes just like Chinese takeout, but gives you complete control over the flavor (should it be sweeter? More sour?) and texture (the level of crunchiness is yours to command)

Our Sweet and Sour Chicken Tenders aren’t just about satisfying your appetite; they’re about creating a moment of pure kitchen joy. Imagine the satisfaction of achieving that perfect crispiness, the satisfaction of crafting a sauce that strikes the right balance between sweet and tangy – it’s an art form, and you’re the artist.

This is a recipe we lean on when the week is crazy busy. It’s full of flavor and snap, and it helps us get the whole family fed fast. Add some colorful veggies coated in a classic tangy sweet-and-sour sauce and served on a steaming bed of rice.

Ingredients of Sweet and Sour Chicken Tenders

• Chicken Tenderloin; I use chicken tenders and cut them into bite-size pieces. Feel free to use chicken breasts, too. In addition, you’ll want to make sure the flour seasoning mix coats the chicken well before searing it in the hot oil.
• All-purpose Flour; I like to lightly pan-fry my chicken. It allows the sauce to stick to the chicken and the breading has enough flavor. Although it is not as thick of a wet or dry dredge, it does just enough to still have that great breading crunch.
• Salt and Pepper; Just the basics, to taste.
• Vegetable oil; use a neutral cooking oil for frying chicken tender

Sweet and Sour Sauce

• Sugar; I use a combination of Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugar; for rounded sweetness, and to counteract any bitterness in the vinegar. Plain granulated white sugar is my choice for this. and light brown sugar will give your chicken a deeper, more caramel-like flavor. Be OK with experimenting when you cook! You can also use one or both of the sugars if you’d like!
• Ketchup; and plenty of it – for a tanginess and color. I don’t eat a lot of ketchup, but it’s a must for this dish.
• Apple Cider Vinegar; Part of the sour tang in this recipe is from the vinegar. If you want a lighter flavor you can also use rice vinegar, it’s still tangy but a little milder.
• Soy Sauce; A little goes a long way. Too much soy sauce in this recipe will change the flavor to something more savory. Use regular soy sauce or low sodium. I like to use Kikkoman soy sauce in all my Asian-American-inspired recipes.
• Cornstarch; thicken the sauce. This is key to making a thick sticky sauce and crisping up our chicken while we fry it. Rather than batter our chicken we will toss it till it’s fully covered.
• Water

Other

• Onion sliced and Garlic chopped; this will be used for sauteeing before adding sweet and sour sauce to chicken
• Sesame Seeds garnish; Raw or toasted.
• Green Onion garnish; Minced up fine, sprinkled liberally on top.

How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken Tenders

First thing first, In a small mixing bowl, combine all the sweet and sour sauce ingredients which are Granulated Sugar, Light Brown Sugar, Ketchup, Apple Cider Vinegar, Soy Sauce, Cornstarch, Water and set aside.

Next, In a shallow dish, combine flour with salt and pepper for making  fried chicken tender crispy. Set aside near your stove.

Then, Prepare a pan or skillet, and heat cooking oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough, dredge the chicken tenders with the flour mixture one by one. Shake off any excess.

Cook the chicken tenders until both sides are golden brown for about 14 minutes. Fry the chicken tenders in several batches, and make sure not to overcrowd.  Remove from heat and store on a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining chicken.

Now, let’s make the sweet and sour sauce remove and leave two tablespoons of cooking oil from frying, add onion to the pan, and cook for 2 minutes then add garlic and cook again for 2 minutes.

After that, Pour the sweet and sour sauce mixture into the pan, stirring well, and once the sauce is bubbling and thickening, add the chicken tenders back to the pan and stir until the chicken tenders is well coated.

Finally, turn off the heat place the sweet and sour chicken tenders on a plate, and garnish with green onion and sesame seeds if you want. Enjoy!

You can serve these sweet and sour chicken tenders over warm white rice, with some Veggie stir fry, or Meatball vermicelli stir fry. Also, you can serve this with your garlic bread. Choose your fav!

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