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On 12/11/2021 at 3:15 AM, Susanwusan said:

has anyone got a nice recipe for a chicken sweet and sour sauce?

Sweet and sour sauce as such, really doesn't exist here in China. Although many dishes do utilise sweet and sour tastes, they are nothing like sweet and sour sauces served internationally.

In a quarter of a century living in China, I have never seen sweet and sour chicken. Kung-po chicken (宫保鸡丁 - gōng bǎo jī dīng) does have sweet and sour elements, but they are only a small part of that dish. (Incidentally, when sour is used, it is nearly always in the form of rice vinegar - white or black depending on the dish. Also, the protein is rarely battered, but when it is, it is a very light batter.)

In my large collection of Chinese language cookbooks, there isn't a single recipe for a sweet and sour chicken dish and I've never seen it on a restaurant menu.

The sweet and sour dishes I have seen have nearly all been fish, but none of them are called sweet and sour. The most common is 松鼠鳜鱼 (sōng shǔ guì yú), the so-called 'squirrel fish' mentioned before. One notable exception to fish is my favourite, that being 糖醋里脊 (táng cù lǐ jǐ, literally 'sugar vinegar (pork) tenderloin') from Sichuan, although it does not resemble western 'Chinese' sweet and sour in any way.

8 hours ago, Susanwusan said:

has anyone got a nice recipe for a chicken sweet and sour sauce?

I really think you'd get a better answer by asking in the general cooking forums than in this China specific one. Sweet and sour sauce as such, really doesn't exist here. Although many dishes do utilise sweet and sour tastes, they are nothing like sweet and sour sauces served internationally.

In a quarter of a century living in China, I have never seen sweet and sour chicken. Kung-po chicken (宫保鸡丁 - gōng bǎo jī dīng) does have sweet and sour elements, but they are only a small part of that dish. (Incidentally, when sour is used, it is nearly always in the form of rice vinegar - white or black depending on the dish. Also, the protein is rarely battered, but when it is, it is a very light batter.)

In my large collection of Chinese language cookbooks, there isn't a single recipe for a sweet and sour chicken dish and I've never seen it on a restaurant menu.

The sweet and sour dishes I have seen have nearly all been fish, but none of them are called sweet and sour. The most common is 松鼠鳜鱼 (sōng shǔ guì yú), the so-called 'squirrel fish' mentioned upthread. One notable exception to fish is my favourite, that being 糖醋里脊 (táng cù lǐ jǐ, literally 'sugar vinegar (pork) tenderloin') from Sichuan, although it does not resemble western 'Chinese' sweet and sour in any way.

8 hours ago, Susanwusan said:

has anyone got a nice recipe for a chicken sweet and sour sauce?

I really think you'd get a better answer by asking in the general cooking forums than in this China specific one. Sweet and sour sauce as such, really doesn't exist here. Although many dishes do utilise sweet and sour tastes, they are nothing like sweet and sour sauces served internationally.

In a quarter of a century living in China, I have never seen sweet and sour chicken. Kung-po chicken (宫保鸡丁 - gōng bǎo jī dīng) does have sweet and sour elements, but they are only a small part of that dish. (Incidentally, when sour is used, it is nearly always in the form of rice vinegar - white or black depending on the dish. Also, the protein is rarely battered.)

In my large collection of Chinese language cookbooks, there isn't a single recipe for a sweet and sour chicken and I've never seen it on a restaurant menu.

The sweet and sour dishes I have seen have nearly all been fish, but none of them are called sweet and sour. The most common is 松鼠鳜鱼 (sōng shǔ guìyú), the so-called 'squirrel fish' mentioned upthread. One notable exception to fish is my favourite, that being 糖醋里脊 (táng cù lǐ jǐ, literally 'sugar vinegar (pork) tenderloin') from Sichuan, although it does not resemble western 'Chinese' sweet and sour in any way.