Sweet and sour chicken with rice
Sweet and sour chicken with rice is a vibrant Asian-style main course featuring tender chicken breast, crunchy carrots, zucchini and capsicum in a glossy tangy sauce, served over fluffy basmati rice. The Thermomix weighs, chops and cooks everything with precise temperature control, delivering consistent stir-fry results without constant stirring or multiple pans on the hob.
About this recipe
Sweet and sour chicken with rice Thermomix TM7 brings the beloved Chinese takeaway classic straight into your kitchen, made entirely in one all-in-one kitchen machine. This recipe pairs golden chunks of skinless chicken breast, coated in cornflour for that signature silky sauce texture, with crisp carrot, zucchini and capsicum in a balanced sweet-and-tangy glaze. The basmati rice cooks to fluffy perfection while the sauce simmers, so everything lands on the plate hot at the same moment. It is the ideal quick weeknight dinner: familiar comfort food that tastes freshly made rather than delivered. Home cooks searching for easy sweet and sour recipes with real vegetables, no deep-frying and no wok splatter will find the TM7 approach a revelation. The machine chops the vegetables evenly, keeps the sauce at a steady simmer so the cornflour thickens without lumps, and stirs automatically while you set the table. A family favourite that tastes like a treat yet comes together with minimal washing-up.
Preparation tips
- Cut the chicken breast fillets into even, bite-sized cubes so they cook uniformly alongside the carrot and capsicum; uneven pieces leave some dry and others underdone in the glossy sauce.
- Toss the chicken in cornflour just before cooking rather than in advance, as the coating absorbs moisture from the meat and turns pasty if it sits too long before hitting the hot mixing bowl.
- For a milder family version, reduce the vinegar slightly and add a spoon of honey; serve the sweet and sour chicken over basmati rice with extra steamed zucchini for fussy eaters who pick out capsicum.
Recipe variations
- Vegetarian variation: replace the chicken breast with firm tofu cubes and use vegetable stock paste throughout; toss the tofu in cornflour exactly as the original so the sauce still clings beautifully to every piece.
- Festive variation: add pineapple chunks and a splash of pineapple juice for a richer, holiday-style sweetness, and garnish with spring onion and toasted sesame seeds over the basmati rice for a restaurant-style finish.
Thermomix TM7 Benefits
- Precision weighing - The TM7 built-in scale weighs the cornflour and rice directly into the bowl to the exact gram. [Weighing]
- Uniform chopping - The Thermomix chops the carrot and capsicum into equal pieces for consistent stir-fry cooking. [Chopping]
- Steady simmering - Precise heating on the TM7 keeps the sweet and sour sauce smooth without burning the sugar. [Heating]
- Gentle steaming - The Varoma of the Thermomix steams the zucchini while the rice cooks below, preserving its bite. [Steaming]
- Quick sauce blending - The Thermomix mixes the stock paste and cornflour into a lump-free glossy sauce in seconds. [Mixing]
Ingredients
- basmati rice
- skinless chicken breast fillets
- sea salt
- ground black pepper
- cornflour
- water
- Vegetable stock paste
- carrot
- zucchini
- yellow capsicum