Cantonese Sweet & Sour Chicken
Submitted by bernien
Cantonese sweet and sour chicken stir-fry with snow peas, mandarin oranges, cashews, and fresh ginger. A quick wok dinner bursting with citrusy, tangy flavor in 40 minutes.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
15 minREADY
40 minSweet and sour chicken doesn’t have to come from a takeout container drowning in neon sauce.
This Cantonese version is fresh, bright, and comes together in one wok faster than your delivery app can find a driver.
Chicken breast gets a quick cornstarch-soy-ginger marinade, then stir-fries until just cooked through before joining crisp snow peas, sliced scallions, and roasted cashews.
The sauce pulls double duty: mandarin orange syrup blended with sweet and sour sauce coats everything in a glossy, citrus-tangy glaze.
The mandarin segments go in right at the end, barely warmed, so they burst with juice in every bite.
Pro Tips
- Marinate the chicken a full 15 minutes. The cornstarch coating creates a silky, velvety texture that clings to the sauce.
- Keep the wok screaming hot. Stir-fry in batches if needed. Crowding the pan steams the chicken instead of searing it.
- Add the oranges last and stir gently. They fall apart fast, and you want whole segments for that pop of juicy citrus.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces.
Combine next 3 ingredients and chicken; let stand 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, reserving ¼ cup syrup, drain mandarin oranges.
Blend reserved syrup with sweet and sour sauce; set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in hot wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chicken and stir-fry 2 minutes; remove.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same pan.
Add snow-peas; stir-fry 1 minute.
Add green onions; stir-fry 30 seconds longer.
Add chicken, cashews and sweet and sour sauce mixture; cook, stirring, until all ingredients are coated in sauce.
Gently stir in mandarin oranges; heat through.
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