Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to classic Americanized Chinese cuisine with a look at the Sweet and Sour Chicken, from PF Chang’s. For those new to the channel, in this series, we have been deconstructing classic dishes from Americanized Chinese cuisine (including a long and ever growing list of dishes from the PF Chang’s menu), then seeing what they might look like when reconstructed through the lens of more traditional wok cooking. For those not familiar, the P.F. Chang’s Sweet and Sour chicken, as expected, sticks pretty closely to how a traditional version of this dish would be assembled, which is to say, a battered and fried piece of chicken breast, combined with a medley of stir fried veggies, and coated with a vinegar forward sweet and savory glaze.
The source of our sour element today will of course come from the use of vinegar in our glaze, with our sweeter qualities iconically coming from the use of ketchup and pineapple juice. Perhaps most unusual about the PF Chang’s sweet and sour chicken, though, is its light and golden coloring, which stands out because sweet and sour chicken is more typically tinted a deep dark red color, due to the high amount of ketchup included in its sauce. So, we’ll definitely be taking a look at how we go about incorporating our ketchup today, as well as a closer look into how I might go about supplementing our sweeter qualities with a bit of sweet chili sauce and chinese red vinegar too. Hope you try it. [**Follow the full video on youtube**](https://youtu.be/kf-S2lrvTAs) for the whole story too!
**Woo Can Cook** is a series where we reproduce fun foods and recipes from my childhood. Some of them are authentically Chinese and/or pan-Asian, but a lot of them are odd Americanized versions that I inherited from my parents and grandparents while growing up in the Bay Area/California.
**Homebase** (Recipes, Livestream Schedule, Music and more): [Woo Can Cook](https://WooCanCook.com)
**INGREDIENTS** – 4 cloves garlic – 1 inch (about 1 tbsp) fine minced ginger – 1/2 medium white onion – 1/2 red bell pepper – 1/2 green bell pepper – 2 medium chicken breasts – 64oz fryer oil – 1/2 cup potato starch – peanut oil
**INGREDIENTS (sauce)** – 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce) – 2 tbsp rice vinegar – 2 tbsp Chinese red vinegar – 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce – 2 tbsp ketchup – 1/4 cup pineapple juice – 2 tbsp chili crisp oil
**PREP** – CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside – FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside – LARGE DICE the onion, set aside – LARGE DICE the bell peppers, set aside – LARGE DICE the chicken, then combine with all marinade ingredients and marinate for 20 minutes – COAT the chicken with potato starch and set aside – COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside
**ON THE STOVE** – HEAT the fryer to 350F, then deepfry the chicken 20-25 pieces at a time for 3-5 minutes until golden brown – REMOVE the fryer oil, then reheat the wok as hot as possible, add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao – ADD the garlic and ginger, then bloom for 15 seconds until fragrant – ADD the bell pepper and saute for 1-2 minutes – ADD the onion and pineapple, then toss for 2-3 minutes and remove – REDUCE heat to medium low, then add the sauce mixture to the wok and reduce for 3-5 minutes until thickened in texture – ADD the veggies and chicken back to the wok and toss to combine
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Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to classic Americanized Chinese cuisine with a look at the Sweet and Sour Chicken, from PF Chang’s. For those new to the channel, in this series, we have been deconstructing classic dishes from Americanized Chinese cuisine (including a long and ever growing list of dishes from the PF Chang’s menu), then seeing what they might look like when reconstructed through the lens of more traditional wok cooking. For those not familiar, the P.F. Chang’s Sweet and Sour chicken, as expected, sticks pretty closely to how a traditional version of this dish would be assembled, which is to say, a battered and fried piece of chicken breast, combined with a medley of stir fried veggies, and coated with a vinegar forward sweet and savory glaze.
The source of our sour element today will of course come from the use of vinegar in our glaze, with our sweeter qualities iconically coming from the use of ketchup and pineapple juice. Perhaps most unusual about the PF Chang’s sweet and sour chicken, though, is its light and golden coloring, which stands out because sweet and sour chicken is more typically tinted a deep dark red color, due to the high amount of ketchup included in its sauce. So, we’ll definitely be taking a look at how we go about incorporating our ketchup today, as well as a closer look into how I might go about supplementing our sweeter qualities with a bit of sweet chili sauce and chinese red vinegar too. Hope you try it. [**Follow the full video on youtube**](https://youtu.be/kf-S2lrvTAs) for the whole story too!
**Woo Can Cook** is a series where we reproduce fun foods and recipes from my childhood. Some of them are authentically Chinese and/or pan-Asian, but a lot of them are odd Americanized versions that I inherited from my parents and grandparents while growing up in the Bay Area/California.
**Homebase** (Recipes, Livestream Schedule, Music and more): [Woo Can Cook](https://WooCanCook.com)
**Recipes**: [Woo Can Cook (Youtube)](https://youtube.com/woocancook?sub_confirmation=1)
**Music**: [Woo Cooks Beats (Lofi Beats to Cook to)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DanL8H7ZKng&list=PL72dM3fKnbHupDC0cIOHxaHBvjZLY3TdT&index=5)
**Woo Can Cook Fried Rice Pop Up (Sundays at the West Oakland Farmers Market!)**: https://WooCanCook.com/eats
**TikTok** (short recipes and Woo Cooks Beats): [Woo Can Cook](https://www.tiktok.com/@woocancook)
**Instagram** (pop-up schedule, music, and random Taki cameos): [@woocancook](https://instagram.com/WooCanCook)
**RECIPE**
https://www.woocancook.com/sweet-and-sour-chicken-karaage
**INGREDIENTS**
– 4 cloves garlic
– 1 inch (about 1 tbsp) fine minced ginger
– 1/2 medium white onion
– 1/2 red bell pepper
– 1/2 green bell pepper
– 2 medium chicken breasts
– 64oz fryer oil
– 1/2 cup potato starch
– peanut oil
**INGREDIENTS (marinade)**
– 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
– 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
– 1/2 tsp white pepper
**INGREDIENTS (sauce)**
– 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
– 2 tbsp rice vinegar
– 2 tbsp Chinese red vinegar
– 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
– 2 tbsp ketchup
– 1/4 cup pineapple juice
– 2 tbsp chili crisp oil
**PREP**
– CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
– FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside
– LARGE DICE the onion, set aside
– LARGE DICE the bell peppers, set aside
– LARGE DICE the chicken, then combine with all marinade ingredients and marinate for 20 minutes
– COAT the chicken with potato starch and set aside
– COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside
**ON THE STOVE**
– HEAT the fryer to 350F, then deepfry the chicken 20-25 pieces at a time for 3-5 minutes until golden brown
– REMOVE the fryer oil, then reheat the wok as hot as possible, add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
– ADD the garlic and ginger, then bloom for 15 seconds until fragrant
– ADD the bell pepper and saute for 1-2 minutes
– ADD the onion and pineapple, then toss for 2-3 minutes and remove
– REDUCE heat to medium low, then add the sauce mixture to the wok and reduce for 3-5 minutes until thickened in texture
– ADD the veggies and chicken back to the wok and toss to combine