Sweet and sour chicken is a crowd-pleaser at any dinner table, offering that perfect blend of tangy and sweet flavors that never fails to hit the spot.
Yet, the question remains: what can you serve alongside this beloved dish to elevate it even further?
It might seem like a minor detail, but picking the right side dishes can turn a good meal into a great one.
In this article, we’re dishing out seven sensational sides that complement sweet and sour chicken in a way that will impress your guests and satisfy even the pickiest eaters.
From classic pairings to some unexpected surprises, we’ve got you covered.
Why Consider Serving Side Dishes with Sweet and Sour Chicken?
Sweet and sour chicken is undoubtedly a fantastic meal on its own, but there is a way to make it even better tasting.
And that is by adding a side dish.
If you find the taste of sweet and sour chicken to be very overpowering on its own, you can tone it down and maintain a balance with a mild side dish.
These seven side dishes mentioned below are various types so that everyone with different taste buds can have something for themselves.
Let’s take a look at seven of the best side dishes for sweet and sour chicken:
What to Serve with Sweet and Sour Chicken? 7 BEST Side Dishes
1 – Stir-fried Broccoli with Garlic
Chicken is nutritious in itself, but if you have a spicy chicken meal like sweet and sour chicken, nothing is better than sautéed or stir-fried broccoli and garlic.
Combining the mild flavor from the vegetable combined with the overload of spices from the sweet and sour chicken is an excellent balance that anyone can try and love.
Stir-fried vegetables are a palate pleaser, especially if you have them with a dish packed with many bold flavors.
The best way to stir fry broccoli is to steam it beforehand and then sauté it in a pan with the slightest drizzle of olive oil.
Add your minced garlic onto this mixture to bring out the broccoli flavor.
Some people may hate the idea of broccoli, so for that, we recommend carrots or green beans.
These vegetables remain crunchy even when you stir-fry them with the slightest bit of softness on the outer layer, which is the perfect texture to go with your sweet and sour chicken.
2 – Steamed or Boiled Rice
Sweet and sour chicken is popularly enjoyed with boiled rice.
The blandness of the rice is perfect for soaking up all the flavor of the sweet and sour chicken.
It is quite a simple meal and very nutritious to be served alongside the chicken.
You don’t have to carry the burden of coming up with complex and elaborate side dishes to enjoy a good meal.
This side dish gets even easier if you have a rice cooker.
In this case, you only have to pop the rice in the cooker and wait for the machine to do its work.
It will probably take about 20-30 minutes to cook the rice perfectly.
You also choose a variety of different rice that is aromatic.
3 – Steamed or Fried Wontons
For a perfect bite-size side dish, you can go for wontons, and they are easy and mess-free to eat.
The choices for the filing are endless.
If you want to tone down on the protein, you can have a vegetable filling for your wontons.
These are perfect with sweet and sour chicken.
You can double the fun and make chicken fillings for your wontons if you want.
It does take a little bit of a learning curve to master the art of wonton making, but nothing cannot be accomplished.
Another way to enjoy these wontons is by deep-frying them, so you get a crunchy outer layer with a soft filling inside.
You may even like the idea of adding wontons in a broth or soup to have with your sweet and sour chicken.
The balance of flavors is just perfect for your palate.
4 – Crispy Kale
If you are not a fan of seaweed, you can deep fry some kale for a similar texture without the taste and fragrance.
It is also an exciting way to incorporate some vegetables into your diet.
It is such an easy dish to make, and you can have this crunchy goodness in under a few minutes; you don’t even have to fry them if you have an oven.
Sprinkle some sea salt on top to give it a nice flavor.
5 – Crunchy Cucumber Salad
This is an Asian-inspired side dish that goes well with any sweet and spicy meal.
All you have to do is chop up the cucumbers and add a mixture of sesame oil, red chili flakes, and salt.
You can even add soy sauce if you like, but the simpler it is, the better it goes with the sweet and sour chicken.
Cucumber salads are a staple in many Asian cuisines, especially side dishes.
It is a sophisticated and tasty, and easy dish that anyone can make.
Make sure that you deseed the cucumbers if you don’t want a soggy salad at the end.
6 – Chinese Inspired Potato Salad
If this is a new dish for you, we are sure you will be hooked on this side dish every time you make sweet and sour chicken.
It’s not as common as rice or noodles in Asian cuisines, but it is just as tasty.
The flavor of the potato salad is relatively mild, so it goes well with the sweet and sour chicken that has a lot of bold flavors.
The suggested serving style is to keep it resting overnight so that all the flavors of the ingredients stand out more.
7 – Fried Tofu with Sesame
If you want a side dish that does not include meat but loves the texture, then tofu is the best choice.
Tofu is an excellent absorber of flavor, so crispy fried tofu will be the best accompaniment anytime you have a meal that has a little bit of gravy.
You can fry it in sesame oil to give it an aromatic flavor or sprinkle some sesame seeds on top for the crunch.
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