If you’re craving Chinese takeout, serve it over brown rice or quinoa. This dinner will leave an impression long after guests leave the table.
When I was growing up, each of us girls had a budget and the task of cooking dinner once a week. This helped us stretch our resources and learn to cook tasty food! This recipe was my favorite to cook for our family. It was always such a hit!
Table of Contents
Recipe for Chinese Food Success
After making this recipe many times, I’ve learned a few tips that take this meal to a whole new level.
- If the marinade fully covers the meat, you’ve made enough. Depending on their size, a batch covers 2-4 single breasts. You may need to double your marinade if you’re using larger chicken breasts. If you double your marinade, you must also double your sauce. No one wants dry chicken!
- When chopping your vegetables, cut them into pieces that are the same size. I like to cut the carrots and celery at an angle to get flat, bigger chunks. This step helps each veggie cook evenly.
- Create new flavor combinations by using your favorite vegetables. We love carrots, celery, new potatoes, peppers, onions, and mushrooms.
- Canned new potatoes are one of my favorite additions, especially when I’m short on time. I cut larger potatoes in half, which works great for kids! I purchase organic potatoes that come in a BPA-free can. You can also use new baby potatoes from your garden. If you can’t find organic potatoes, be sure to grab a variety that is non-GMO.
- I love using pineapple juice in this recipe, but I don’t use concentrated versions with sugar. If I know I’m making this dish, I purchase fresh sliced pineapple from the store and use the juice gathered in the bottom of the container. If you don’t have pineapple juice, you can use water. Either works great!
- My favorite rice is Lundberg brown basmati rice. If you have leftover rice, use it to make our delicious rice pudding!
Healthy Chicken Ingredients 101
This recipe may sound fancy, but it uses simple ingredients. I’m sure you have most of them in your pantry right now! Here’s what you need to add to your shopping cart.
Chicken Breasts: Chicken is a great, lean protein that’s relatively inexpensive. When purchasing chicken, look for organic, free-range birds. Chickens raised in commercial cages are fed GMO-filled grains.
This feed fattens them up, but it also leeches into the meat, affecting consumers. If you’re having trouble finding free-range meat in stores, you can usually create connections with local farmers who are happy to sell you their free-range birds.
Organic Vegetables and Pineapple: A good variety of organic vegetables gives your body a healthy dose of produce! One of the best things about this recipe is that you can customize it to fit whatever you have on hand.
Use broccoli, snow peas, cauliflower, celery, radishes, water chestnuts, or onions. The sky is the limit! I recommend using fresh pineapple chunks as well for a pop of sweetness. The pineapple releases its natural juice as the dish cooks, adding flavor.
Sea Salt: Traditional table salt undergoes a rigorous harvesting process that leaves it stripped of trace minerals. We recommend using Colima sea salt because it’s hand-harvested. This process leaves the good stuff intact!
Plus, it tastes incredible and adds gourmet flair to any recipe. If you don’t have sea salt, you can use pink Himalayan salt.
Liquid Aminos or Gluten-Free Tamari Sauce: Instead of traditional soy sauce, we use liquid aminos. We love the deep, salty taste it gives our food! It’s lower in sodium and contains no soy.
If you don’t have liquid aminos on hand, you can use gluten-free tamari sauce.
Organic Non-GMO Cornstarch: This ingredient thickens the sweet and sour sauce. Healthy alternatives are easier to find as consumers learn more about their bodies. If you’re having trouble finding organic cornstarch, you can always find it online.
Sweetener: Traditional Chinese dishes contain lots of sugar. This recipe is delightful, but instead of white sugar, we use low-glycemic options. You can use coconut crystals or maple sugar.
Both options are comparable to brown sugar in flavor. You won’t notice a difference in taste! A little goes a long way, especially since the pineapple adds natural sweetness.
Homemade Ketchup: My homemade ketchup is the sweet and sour sauce base. Don’t let the thought of DIY condiments scare you! This recipe comes together in just a few minutes. You can even make it in advance!
If you prefer, you can always use organic, unsweetened ketchup.
Make Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken
This recipe may sound fancy, but it’s pretty straightforward. You should note that your chicken needs at least 4 hours to marinate. The best part? There’s no breading involved, so you get to skip a step.
- 2-4 organic, free-range chicken breasts, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- Organic vegetables (carrots, celery, red or green peppers, water chestnuts, etc.)
- 1 cup fresh organic pineapple, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pink Himalayan salt or sea salt
- 1 tablespoon Bragg liquid aminos or 1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari sauce
- 1 tablespoon non-GMO cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon white wine or cooking sherry
- Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons Bragg apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons organic coconut crystals or maple sugar
- 4 tablespoons homemade ketchup
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pink Himalayan salt or sea salt
- 4 tablespoons fresh organic pineapple juice or purified water
- 1 tablespoon non-GMO cornstarch
- Mixing bowls
- Large skillet or wok
- Mix the sea salt, liquid aminos, cornstarch, and white wine in a small bowl. Place the chicken in a glass dish and pour the marinade on top. It should fully cover the chicken.
- Gently stir to coat the meat thoroughly. Marinate overnight or at least 4 hours.
- Combine the apple cider vinegar, coconut crystals, ketchup, sea salt, and pineapple juice in a separate bowl. Whisk in the cornstarch. Set aside.
- Preheat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add coconut and sesame oil, then sauté the chicken until cooked thoroughly. Set aside.
- Add the rest of the coconut and sesame oil to the pan, then sauté the veggies and pineapple.
- When the vegetables are nearly done, add the sweet and sour sauce.
- Cook until the sauce looks like a glaze.
- Fold in the chicken and serve over brown rice or lettuce.
Step One: Marinate the Chicken
Mix the sea salt, liquid aminos, cornstarch, and white wine in a small bowl. Place the chicken in a glass dish and pour the marinade on top. It should fully cover the chicken. Gently stir to coat the meat thoroughly. Marinate overnight or at least 4 hours.
Step Two: Make the Sweet and Sour Sauce
Combine the apple cider vinegar, coconut crystals, ketchup, sea salt, and pineapple juice in a separate bowl. Whisk in the cornstarch. Set aside.
Step Three: Cook the Chicken
Preheat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add coconut and sesame oil, then sauté the chicken until cooked thoroughly. Set aside.
Step Four: Cook the Vegetables and Add Sauce
Add the rest of the coconut and sesame oil to the pan, then sauté the veggies and pineapple. I like to start with the vegetables that take the longest to cook, such as carrots and celery. I usually add the pineapple last.
When the vegetables are nearly done, add the sweet and sour sauce. Cook until the sauce looks like a glaze. Fold in the chicken and serve over brown rice or lettuce.
One of the easiest ways to ensure you always have healthy food is to garden. Gardening is for everyone, even if you’ve been unsuccessful in the past. I’ve been gardening since I was a small child and now enjoy the fruits of my labor each year!
This free screening can save you so much hassle! In Organic Gardening Made Easy With Mama Z, I take you into my garden and share my best tips and tricks. You’ll learn how to create your own bountiful harvest without the use of any toxins.
