Main dishes
Pan-seared sweet-and-sour chicken with pineapple
Pan-seared chicken with fresh pineapple, peppers and a measured sweet-and-sour sauce. Four proposed portions, thermometer checks and estimated nutrition.
- Total time
- 51 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Cuisine
- Chinese-American inspired
Ingredients
Chicken
Pan
Vegetables and fruit
Sauce
Method
Prepare and separate raw and cooked food
Set out a wide heavy pan, food thermometer, scales, bowls, two boards and separate utensils for raw and cooked chicken. Weigh 600 g raw boneless, skinless breast without added solution. Keep it at 4°C or below and do not wash it. If frozen, thaw safely in the refrigerator and add the actual thawing time. Wash hands with soap for at least 20 seconds; rinse produce with drinking water before cutting, without soap or bleach. Produce weights are edible net weights. This method uses a pan and a thin starch coating, not a deep-fried batter.
Cut the pineapple and vegetables
Using a clean produce board and knife, prepare 200 g fresh peeled pineapple without hard core, 150 g red pepper, 100 g green pepper and 120 g peeled onion. Remove pepper seeds and stems, and cut everything into approximately 2 cm pieces. Keep away from raw chicken and its utensils. Do not include peel, seeds, cores, trimmings or washing water in the nutrition weights. Syrup-packed pineapple or its juice changes the formula; do not add carrots, broccoli or garnish without recalculating.
Cut and lightly coat the chicken
On the separate raw-meat board, cut 600 g chicken into approximately 2 cm cubes. Pat dry with disposable paper if necessary, without washing the chicken. Toss with all 20 g cornstarch reserved for chicken, forming a thin film. Add no egg, flour, salt or marinade. Divide into two 300 g batches and refrigerate until cooking. Clean and disinfect the board, knife and surfaces appropriately, and change or clean utensils before touching cooked food.
Mix the sauce and slurry separately
In a clean bowl mix 80 g ketchup, 40 g food-grade white vinegar of 5% acidity, 30 g sugar, 20 g regular soy-and-wheat shoyu and 120 ml water. Weigh vinegar and soy sauce in grams rather than assuming an equal volume in millilitres. In another bowl mix the remaining 10 g cornstarch with 30 ml cold water until smooth. The totals are 150 ml water and 30 g cornstarch. Use all sauce and slurry. Reduced-sodium soy sauce requires a new calculation; check labels for soy, wheat and other allergens.
Cook the chicken in two batches
Preheat the pan over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes without letting it smoke; this time is included in the total. Add 10 g oil and arrange one 300 g chicken batch in a single layer. Cook for about 7 minutes, turning to brown, until the thickest cubes reach at least 74°C on a clean thermometer. Transfer with cooked-food utensils to a clean plate. Repeat with another 10 g oil and the remaining 300 g chicken for about 7 minutes, checking 74°C again. The proposed total is 14 minutes; extend and record it if necessary. Browning does not establish safety. Retain oil, cooked juices and starch residue for the sauce; do not conceal burning as an unchanged formula.
Sauté vegetables and pineapple
Add the final 10 g oil to the same pan. Add the prepared onion, red and green peppers and pineapple, and stir with a clean utensil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Aim for lightly browned edges and recognisable pepper pieces, not a purée. Do not add oil or discard juices; the next step collects the pan residue. All 30 g oil are included in the estimate, without invented absorption or measured loss. Keep cooked chicken on its clean plate, away from raw-food bowls and utensils.
Cook and thicken the sauce
Stir the slurry again to lift settled starch. Pour all prepared sauce over the vegetables and pineapple, and stir to loosen the pan residue. When gently simmering, gradually add all the slurry while stirring, then cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes. The sauce should become glossy and coat the spatula without raw starch taste or dry lumps. Do not reduce to a thick caramel or add sugar, water or thickener without recording a change. Evaporation means the starting water quantity is not a measured finished sauce yield.
Return the chicken and check the finish
Return all cooked chicken and the juices from its clean plate to the pan. Fold through the sauce, pineapple and vegetables over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Check that the thickest chicken cubes reach at least 74°C with a clean thermometer; extend cooking if needed. Never add raw chicken juices or utensils. Keep pieces recognisable and add no sesame, scallions, cilantro, rice or other sides within these nutrition figures. This is a thin-coated pan dish, not a promise of twice-fried crispness.
Serve and store safely
Divide all chicken, vegetables, pineapple and sauce into 4 similar portions; no measured serving weight is claimed. Proposed timing is 25 minutes preparation, 24 cooking and 2 preheating, total 51 minutes: chicken 14, vegetables 5, sauce 3 and finishing 2. There is no required marinade or rest. Record actual delays and extra thawing time. Serve promptly and calculate rice separately. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C; discard beyond those limits. Keep at 4°C or below and use within 3 days as a conservative, untested proposal. Reheat to 74°C. Shoyu contributes soy and wheat, and the sauce contains added sugars.
The step photos are illustrative.
Notes
Nutrition facts
One quarter of all chicken, vegetables, pineapple and sauce; 4 proposed portions
- Protein
- 35.6 g
- Carbohydrates
- 32.9 g
- Fat
- 11.7 g
- Saturated fat
- 1.5 g
- Fiber
- 2.6 g
- Sugars
- 20.1 g
- Sodium
- 528.3 mg
Ingredient-based estimate, not laboratory analysis or a kitchen test. No oil absorption or loss is invented. Fresh pineapple and regular wheat-containing shoyu are used; finished weights and 4 portions remain unconfirmed. Rice, sesame, scallions and sides are excluded. All 8 nutrient fields exist in all 11 entries; missing data are not filled with zero.
Reference source: USDA FoodData Central — SR Legacy (abril de 2018)
For general information only; it does not replace advice from a qualified health or nutrition professional.
About this recipe
An original pan version of sweet-and-sour chicken with fresh pineapple and peppers, without deep-frying or a thick batter. The proposed recipe makes 4 portions in 51 minutes; timing and yield have not been kitchen-tested.
Frequently asked questions
Will it be as crisp as twice-fried chicken?
That texture is not promised. This version uses a thin starch film and measured pan oil rather than wet batter or a deep oil bath. Cook in separate batches and serve after mixing in the sauce; browning never replaces the 74°C thermometer check.
Can I use syrup-packed pineapple or reduced-sodium soy sauce?
Yes, as a recorded variation with revised quantities and nutrition. This formula uses fresh net-weight pineapple and regular soy-and-wheat shoyu. Such substitutions do not automatically make the dish gluten-free or sugar-free.
How do I divide the starch and store leftovers?
Use 20 g starch with chicken and 10 g in 30 ml cold water for thickening, plus 120 ml water in the sauce. Refrigerate shallow containers at 4°C or below within the stated limits, use within a proposed 3 days, and reheat to 74°C. Rice and accompaniments are excluded.
