One of the most popular chicken entrees on the P. F. Chang’s menu is their Sweet & Sour Chicken Stir Fry. Lightly breaded chicken breast pieces, red & green pepper, onion and pineapple stir-fried in an original Sweet & Sour glaze! The tangy sauce, paired with the sweetness of the pineapple, and the crispness of the peppers and onions is just about the darned tastiest thing. Served over Jasmine rice and it is everything! It’s easiest to use a wok for the stir fry, but if you don’t own a wok, then make sure you use an extra large, deep-walled sauté pan.
P.F. Chang’s is an Asian restaurant concept founded on making food from scratch every day in every restaurant. Created in 1993 by Philip Chiang and Paul Fleming, (of Fleming’s Steak House) P.F. Chang’s (Paul Fleming’s initials, see what thy did there?) is the first multi-unit restaurant concept in the U.S. to honor and celebrate the 2,000-year-old tradition of wok cooking as the center of the guest experience. Today there are over 300 locations, worldwide.
P.F. Chang’s also has a retail sector of frozen and bottled foods, named P.F. Chang’s At Home. This is a partnership with the Mega Brand, ConAgra Foods. You may be tempted to purchase the already bottled, Sweet & Sour sauce from said brand, but please don’t. Not only is this homemade Sweet & Sour sauce easy, but the bottled version tastes nothing like the real entrée that you get at the restaurant. Bottled, store-bought versions never taste the same, in my opinion. They require so many preservatives and stabilizers, in order to keep them shelf stable, that the flavor and freshness are always compromised.
Serve with P.F.CHANG’S Mongolian Beef or PEI WEI’S Thai Blazing Noodles and Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 5-oz. chicken breasts, cut into 1” chunks
- 1 cup fresh pineapple, cleaned, cored and cut into ¼” pieces
- 1 cup green bell pepper, cut into 1” dice
- 1 cup red bell pepper, cut into 1” dice
- 1 cup white onion, cut into 1” dice
- 6+ TBL canola oil
- 2 egg whites, beaten
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- Pinch of Kosher salt
- 1 TBL fresh garlic, minced
- 1 TBL ginger, fresh and minced or puree
- 8 TBL water
- 4 TBL ketchup
- 1 TBL white sugar
- 1 TBL rice vinegar
- 1 TBL soy sauce
Instructions
Sweet and Sour Sauce Instructions:
In a small sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil. Once oil is hot, add the ginger and garlic. Stir in pan until fragrant, do not allow ginger or garlic to brown. Add the water to slow the cooking process and allow the water to simmer, slightly. Add the ketchup, sugar, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Mix well in pan until all sugar is dissolved. Simmer the mixture on a low heat until the sauce has thickened and reduced by at least half. Set aside.
Chicken instructions:
Pour the egg whites over the chicken pieces and mix well with hands, making sure the chicken is coated with egg. Put chicken into a large zip-lock bag, add the flour, salt and cornstarch. Zip the bag and shake well until the chicken is completely dredged.
Stir-Fry Instructions:
In a very hot wok or sauté pan (extra-large), add 2 TBL of the canola oil. Once the oil is very hot, add the chicken in small batches, about 4 in total (do not overcrowd the wok). Stir-fry the chicken until completely cooked, about 4 minutes per batch. Once cooked, remove chicken to a drainage rack to drain. Do not use paper towel as the chicken will stick to the paper towel. Continue working the chicken in this exact manner until all chicken is cooked. Between batches, add 1 -2 more TBL of canola oil if necessary. Do not overuse oil, to prevent the dish from being greasy.
Once all the chicken is cooked and on the drainage plate, using whatever little bit of oil is remaining in the wok, add the onions and peppers. Stir fry the onion and peppers until the peppers become a nice, vibrant color. Do not overcook! You want the vegetables to remain crispy and crunchy. Once the onions and peppers are a bright color, add back in the chicken. Add the pineapple and Sweet and Sour glaze and toss all ingredients together in the wok until the dish is well coated in the glaze.
Serve with P.F.CHANG'S Mongolian Beef or PEI WEI'S Thai Blazing Noodles and Enjoy!
FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL
