Pressure Cooker: Sweet And Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour dishes have always been popular in Chinese American restaurants throughout the United States. These dishes are usually made with chicken or pork and include pineapple, bell peppers and onions as well as garlic and ginger. The biggest difference from restaurant to restaurant seems to be the sweet and sour sauce used. The sauces either tend to be red in color or a more clear yellow color. The two sauces are made the same way, with the exception of the red sauce which has a tomato based component which in most cases is ketchup.

I have included two recipes for making sweet and sour chicken in your electric pressure cooker. Version one is the one illustrated in the photos in this article, and is the one I make most often. I have included a recipe to make your own red sweet and sour dipping sauce that is required for version two. You can of course use any sweet and sour sauce you have on hand for version two, but making your own is really easy and most of you should have the necessary ingredients in your pantry.

The Recipes

This recipe is pretty quick and easy to make. The part which takes the longest is coating the chicken with cornstarch and sauteing it prior to cooking. If you have read in my article on 'Electric Pressure Cookers', then you know that I do not brown my meat in my pressure cooker. No matter how hard I try, the meat always seems to stick and I get crappy results. So as always, I browned the chicken after it was coated in cornstarch in a skillet and then transferred it to my Power Cooker XL. Having said that, if you have had good results sauteing meat in your pressure cooker then please save yourself the trouble of washing an extra skillet and do it that way.

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Version 1)

6 chicken thighs (de-boned and cubed)

1 (20 ounce can) pineapple chunks

½ cup water or chicken stock
½ cup cornstarch
1 green pepper, cut into medium chunks
½ onion, cut into medium chunks

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon ginger paste or minced ginger or ¼ teaspoon ginger powder
¼ teaspoon each salt and white pepper

Cut up your boneless thighs into small chunks and then dredge the chicken in the cornstarch or all-purpose flour and set aside. Place the inner pot into the Pressure Cooker. Press the CHICKEN/MEAT button. Set time to 10 minutes and add two tablespoons of olive oil and the chicken to the pressure cooker and sauté the chicken until it is slightly browned. Then add the remaining ingredients and place the lid on the Pressure Cooker and lock. Switch the Pressure Release Valve to Closed.

Chefs Note: If your electric pressure cooker does not have a CHICKEN/MEAT button like the Power Pressure Cooker XL, then set it on high pressure and select 10 minutes as the cook time. You may have read in my article on 'Electric Pressure Cookers' I do not brown my meat in my pressure cooker as no matter how I try I get crappy results. So as always, I browned the chicken after it was coated in cornstarch in a skillet and then transferred it to my Power Cooker XL.

After 10 minutes when the timer reaches '0' most electric pressure cookers will automatically switch to keep warm mode. Once the pressure has been completely released, remove the lid and serve over cooked white rice, or allow to keep in warm mode until ready to eat.

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Version 2)

6 chicken thighs (de-boned and cubed)

¾ chicken stock or ¾ cup water + 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1 cup red sweet and sour sauce

6 ounces pineapple chunks.
1 green pepper, cut into medium chunks
1 medium onion, cut into medium chunks
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon ginger paste or minced ginger or ¼ teaspoon ginger powder
¼ teaspoon each salt and white pepper

Follow the same cooking instructions for version one.

Red Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 cup pineapple juice

½ cup ketchup

¼ white vinegar

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Combine cornstarch and two tablespoons of pineapple juice in a small bowl to make a slurry and set aside. Combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer then add the cornstarch slurry and cook until thickened (about 5 minutes).

Conclusion

I hope you and your family will enjoy making this sweet and sour chicken recipe in your electric pressure cooker. It is far cheaper to make your own than it is to take the family out for Chinese food. If you prefer sweet and sour pork, then substitute 1lb pork butt cut into 1” cubes and coat and brown it the same as you would the chicken. If you prefer a little heat, you can add 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes to add a little zip to your meal. Add any additional vegetables you would like to this dish to give it even more flavor. Traditional additives such as sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, carrots and green onions make nice additions to this dish. As always, if you have enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends and don't forget to send us a friend request on Facebook and Google+ so that you will not miss out on any of our new articles.

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