Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls

If you grew up in the UK, you’ll be familiar with a good old British Chinese takeaway. And with all that choice on a Chinese menu, what did us 90s kids order? Chicken balls and sweet and sour sauce, of course!

Now, I know this dish is not authentic Chinese food. Is it authentic British Chinese food, though? Absolutely. But, after the Tiktok scandal of 2023 where Americans thought us Brits were being racist for calling a Chinese takeaway ‘a Chinese’ and then started sh*tting on British Chinese takeaway, I feel I have to explain.

Chinese people have been immigrating to Great Britain since the 1800s due to the British Empire. British shipping companies would employ Southern Chinese men as seafarers, and some of them chose to settle in Great Britain in return. Some even opened noodle houses. But it was after the Second World War when immigration rules changed due to a low labor force that things boomed. When immigrants from Hong Kong and China came over to the UK in the 1950s, many opened up Chinese restaurants. Initially they served authentic Chinese food, but I guess the Brits slowly became intrigued and wanted in on the food, so the restaurants had to cater for local tastes, which meant getting rid of spice and adding sweetness instead. Sweet and sour chicken is one of the dishes which I think is a symbol of that era. And nowadays, its a classic staple of any Chinese order in the UK.

And for the record, if you’re interested in that whole Tiktok debacle, we are not being racist when we say ‘Fance a Chinese tonight?’. We of course mean ‘a Chinese takeaway’, but that has been slimmed down to just ‘a Chinese’. We do the same with any other cuisine. Fancy an Indian? Fancy an Italian? Fancy a Chinese? It’s a simple case of omission. You can have that linguistic lesson for free, my loves.

Anyway, definitely check out the Tiktok videos of Americans sh*tting on British Chinese food. I love a bit of Tiktok tea, don’t you? If you are American, no shade at all. It’s all just a bit of banter. We love you really.

Right, let’s get on with the recipe. I give you … sweet and sour chicken balls!

Note for this recipe:
You NEED a food thermometer to make sure the oil is at the correct temperature for frying, and it can also be handy for quickly checking if the chicken is cooked inside.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

2 tbs white wine vinegar

2 tbs vegetable oil

Large bottle of oil for deep-frying

2 tbs plain flour for dusting the chicken

For the batter:

150 g plain flour

30 g cornstarch

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150 ml cold water (approx.)

For the sweet and sour sauce:

5-6 tbs ketchup

4 tbs white wine vinegar

50 g caster or brown sugar

200 ml pineapple juice

2 tsp cornstarch

Method

Dice the chicken breasts into cubes no bigger than an inch. Place into a large bowl. Pour the white wine vinegar and the oil over the top. Mix and leave to marinade for 45 minutes. This process tenderises the chicken.

In the meantime, make the sweet and sour sauce. Place the ketchup, white wine vinegar, sugar and pineapple juice into a saucepan. Heat on medium, stirring every now and then until all ingredients are combined and the sugar is dissolved. Add in a mug of water and continue to heat on medium for 5 minutes or so until the sauce starts reducing. Put the 2 tsp cornstarch into a cup and add a glug of water, mixing into a smooth pourable slurry. While the sauce is still on the heat, add in your cornstarch slurry and whisk vigorously. Continue cooking for a couple more minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
Next, make the batter: Place the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Make a well in the middle and gradually mix in the cold water with one chopstick or a whisk or fork. The batter should be thick but pourable. If it is too thick, add more water. Too thin? Add more flour.

After 45 minutes of marinading, your chicken is ready to be battered and fried. Firstly, you will want to heat your oil; fill a wok or deep saucepan halfway to the top with vegetable oil. Heat it until it reaches a temperature of 175 C or 350 F.
While your oil is heating up, add the 2 tbs plain flour into the chicken and mix it in, making sure that each chicken piece is covered with flour. Now let’s cook the chicken balls: Take a piece of chicken and quickly dip it into the batter, ensuring it gets submerged. Carefully lay the chicken into the hot oil, making sure you lay away from you to avoid oil splashback. Repeat with 6 more pieces and cook them for 5-7 minutes, flipping over in the middle. When the balls are golden brown and they reach 75 C / 168 F or higher, they are cooked through. Remove with a metal slotted spoon or frying strainer. Place on a large plate lined with kitchen paper to drain the oil. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.