This Hairy Bikers sweet and sour chicken recipe uses fresh pineapple, ginger, and a homemade sauce at around 280 calories per serving. It comes from the Chicken and Egg cookbook and takes just 30 minutes, so the Friday takeaway can wait.
Si and Dave wrote that you can beat any takeaway “with nice fresh pineapple and not too much sugar.” That promise holds because the whole sauce is built on 300ml of real pineapple juice, which gives it a brightness that no bottled version can match.
The key technique here is using cornflour twice, because it does two completely different jobs in this dish. You dust the chicken before frying for crisp edges, then stir a separate slurry into the sauce so it turns thick and glossy in seconds.
Hairy Bikers Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Description
A fakeaway sweet and sour chicken with diced breast, peppers, and chunky pineapple in a sauce you build from scratch. Every ingredient is a storecupboard staple, so there is nothing artificial in the bowl.
Ingredients
For the Sweet and Sour Sauce:
For the Chicken and Vegetables:
Instructions
- Build the sauce: Reserve 2 tablespoons of the pineapple juice in a small bowl, then stir in 1 tablespoon of cornflour until smooth and set aside. Pour the remaining juice into a separate bowl and stir in the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ketchup, and chilli flakes until combined, then season with black pepper.
- Prep the pineapple and chicken: Cut the skin off the pineapple and quarter it lengthways, then remove the tough central core and slice into thick pieces. Cut each chicken breast into roughly 8 even pieces.
- Stir-fry the vegetables and chicken: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or wok over high heat, then stir-fry the onion and peppers for about 3 minutes. Coat the chicken pieces in 1 tablespoon of cornflour and add them to the pan, then stir-fry for 4 minutes until lightly coloured on all sides.
- Simmer in the sauce: Add the pineapple slices and the sweet and sour sauce to the pan, then bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes while stirring regularly, until the chicken is cooked through and the pineapple is hot.
- Thicken and serve: Stir the reserved cornflour slurry into the pan and cook for 30 to 60 seconds until the sauce is thick and glossy, turning everything until nicely coated. Scatter the spring onions over the top and serve hot with rice.
FAQs
Is this the same as the Hairy Dieters sweet and sour chicken?
No, these are two different recipes from two different books. This version from Chicken and Egg uses fresh pineapple, olive oil, and 300ml of real pineapple juice, which makes the sauce taste brighter and more fruity.
The Dieters version from Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight swaps in canned pineapple, sunflower oil, and adds water chestnuts for bulk at 288 calories per serving. If you want the lighter version, that recipe is worth tracking down as well.
Can I swap fresh pineapple for canned?
You can, but cut the sugar in the sauce by half because canned pineapple in juice is already sweeter than fresh. The texture changes too, since fresh pineapple holds its shape better during the simmer and has natural enzymes that gently work on the chicken.
If you prefer using canned, the Hairy Dieters version was built around tinned pineapple from the start, so that recipe handles the sweetness balance better than adjusting this one on the fly.
What makes this different from a takeaway sweet and sour?
Most takeaway versions use battered, deep-fried chicken in a thick sauce coloured with red food dye, which is why the dish has a bad reputation for being heavy and artificial. Si and Dave skip the deep-frying and stir-fry the chicken in just a dusting of cornflour instead.
The sauce gets its colour naturally from ketchup and brown sugar, so you know exactly what is in the bowl. If you like making fakeaways at home, the chilli is another Friday night dish that beats ordering in.
Did Si and Dave use the same sweet and sour sauce in every recipe?
No, they published five different sauces across five books, and each one takes a completely different approach. This Chicken and Egg version uses ketchup and fresh pineapple juice for a tangy takeaway-style flavour, while the sweet and sour pork from Meat Feasts drops the ketchup entirely and builds the sauce on dark soy and sesame oil.
The sweet and sour tofu from Veggie Feasts uses sweet chilli sauce and Chinese 5-spice for a warm vegan version, and their Asian Adventure fish recipe caramelises 70g of raw sugar before adding red wine vinegar for a traditional Cantonese glaze. Even the Hong Kong pork version is just three ingredients: ketchup, sugar, and pineapple. Five books, five sauces, and each one is matched to the protein it sits on.
Can I make this ahead or keep leftovers?
The sauce reheats well and keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days in a sealed container, so you can batch it on a Sunday and use it across the week. Just bring it back to a simmer before adding freshly cooked chicken.
The stir-fried chicken itself goes rubbery when reheated because breast meat dries out fast once cooled, so stir-fry it fresh each time. If you want something that comes together even faster on a busy night, the chilli prawn pasta is another storecupboard stir-fry that is ready in under 15 minutes. Serve either dish with a caesar salad if you want something green alongside.
