Ahh…this meal really hit the spot. We talked about it for days after. We were absolutely amazed & delighted with how well this dish turned out. Since going gluten-free last May, we haven’t done any Chinese take-out. We loved ordering the sweet & sour chicken balls; that was something everyone in the family enjoyed. We finally decided to try our hand at making our own gluten-free Chinese dinner, and let me tell you, we were over-joyed with how well it turned out! These chicken balls are not only gluten-free, but they are also the BEST chicken balls we’ve ever had…anywhere!
The batter mixed up quickly, the chicken fried up beautifully, the sauce was amazing as well. The sauce did not clump up when it cooled the way I’ve seen other homemade sweet & sour sauces do. The batter was perfect on the chicken, it wasn’t a huge doughy mass around a small piece of chicken, it was a nice thin, but crisp coating. We will definitely be making this again! Delicious!!
Chicken Balls
Ingredients:
- 1 /2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 1/3 cups cold water
- oil (for frying)
- 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks (you should get about 3-4 dozen pieces)
- seasoning salt (optional)
Directions:
- In a bowl combine rice flour mix, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and water until smooth.
- Heat oil in a deep-fryer or Dutch oven to 375 degrees.
- Dip the chicken pieces into the batter, then drop in hot oil and fry until golden and the juices run clear (about 5 minutes).
- Remove to a paper towel.
- Sprinkle with seasoning salt immediately after frying if desired.
- Serve immediately with sweet and sour sauce.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free soy sauce
- 1/3 cup white vinegar (for a sweeter sauce reduce to 1/4 cup)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cold water
Directions:
- In a saucepan combine the first 6 ingredients; bring to a boil whisking constantly.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer stirring for 2 minutes.
- In a small bowl or cup dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup cold water until smooth, then add to the simmering sauce stirring constantly.
- Cook stirring until bubbly and thickened (about 3 minutes, the sauce will thicken as it simmers).
- Cool to room temperature then chill.
- Remove from heat; set aside to cool.
Source: Based on a recipe from Recipezaar
Yummo..this looks fabulous! Good for you Jeanine! I’m happy that you can make some of your favorite dishes GF.
this looks great, I can’t wait to try it.
but, in the sauce recipe, is it really only half teaspoon of soy sauce?
Thanks
Yep, only a 1/2 tsp soy sauce (make sure it’s GF as well, if necessary). This sauce was amazing, I was very pleased with it, and can’t wait to to chicken balls again.
If you find you want more soy sauce after tasting it, feel free to add some more to taste.
Thank you for this awesome recipe. My gluten-free, 15 year old son came home from school today frustrated and tired of the dietary restrictions that come from being gluten-free. He really wanted chicken balls! I googled and voila, your amazing blog and an amazing gluten-free chicken ball recipe. You have made our day!
Anon, you have just made my day! I can’t imagine being a teenager and having these restrictions, it’s hard enough to do this as an adult! I’m so glad that your son liked the chicken balls, we LOVED them! So great to be able to eat normal food. Foods that have been taken off your take-out lists. So glad to hear that this made his day. Thanks for your story!
Hi, I recently discovered your blog and tried this recipe tonight. It was so good that the kids were fighting over it! I also made the restaurant style fried rice and it was a hit too. It’s great to have some new gluten-free recipes to try. Thank you!
I’m so glad that you liked them! We loved them too. I need to make them again soon.
I made these for Christmas Eve dinner with all kinds of other Chinese food.
They turned out awesome. Much better than the Chinese restaurant since they weren't doughy inside.
That's great, Kathleen! Glad to hear that they turned out well for you guys. I think we'll have to make these again one day…soon…very soon… YUM! And I totally agree about being better than take out, they aren't doughy, and they aren't just a big piece of dough with a teenie, tiny piece of meat inside.
I made these a couple of weeks ago and my husband absolutely loved them! He has celiac disease and misses so many things…and this is one he can have back!!! He even took them for lunch the next day and said they warmed up very well
Thank you so much!! Now if I can find a good pizza dough recipe (hint, hint)….
@chris They are fantastic, aren't they?
I'm not usually so confident, but I really think these GF chicken balls are better than any we'd ever had with take-out. so glad that your husband can enjoy it again.
As for pizza…I make pizza quite regularly, and will have to write down what I do next time. I know it took us a LONG time to find recipes that didn't taste like cardboard (some, I couldn't even cut through, ugh!). I'll work on that.
Wow. I can't wait to try this recipe. i haven't had anything like this in over 3 years now. Thank you for working on the leading edge.
@beebokay Oh, 3 years without…then you MUST make these soon! We like them even better than any we ordered from take-out before going GF.
Let me know how they work for you!
I have made this recipe many times but my batter just dosen’t seem to stay on the chicken pieces. The batter is somewhat runny. How can I overcome this?
This recipe is great! I thought i’d never have chicken balls again, but they tasted exactly as i remember them. The sweet and sour sauce was fantastic as well!
Thank you so much for this!
Hi Baking Beauties.
You have been my mentor since I became gluten free I have tried many of your recipes. The first one I recently posted on my blog http://simpleglutenfreekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/chinese-take-out-at-home.html
Do visit and I would love if you leave a comment to encourage me more. I am following you since I made my blog. It is fairly new.
Balvinder
I noticed one poster said the batter didn’t stick to the chicken pieces. Do you have an answer for that? I need a workable recipe for Christmas Eve. Thanks!
I’ve never really had that problem at all, but I would suggest maybe drying the chicken pieces before dipping them into the batter. The batter won’t stick on really thick, but it fries up just beautifully. Definitely a favorite in our family, and has been made numerous times.
I juts made these and the batter stuck just fine. I rinsed and dried my whole chicken breats before cutting them into pieces though…
Made this last night. Amazing and simple!
Some days just need something battered and fried.
“Some days just need something battered and fried.”
Isn’t that the truth! Glad that you liked them!
I was wondering in the flour mixture where it says part, do you mean cup?
I would like to make these this weekend, I am craving chinese food but really don’t want to accept the self torture of eating foods filled with gluten just to satisfy a craving.
Hi Rachel, If you already have an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, feel free to use that in place of the flour. If you have to mix up your own, you can use the recipe above using any measurement you want for the parts. If you use 1/8 cup as a part, it would be 3/4 cup rice flour, 1/4 cup potato starch, and 2 Tbsp tapioca starch. Mix this together until blended. You will only have 2 Tbsp of flour mixture leftover using these amounts.
Enjoy your Chinese feast!
Made these last night – AMAZING!!!! I can’t get enough! and sooo happy to have a recipe that is dairy and egg free! You have no idea how badly I was craving Chinese (yes, I am pregnant) but I can’t eat out at a restaurant due to my food allergies. THANK- YOU for this recipe!!!!
Jeanine,
I have been copying your tasty recipes as there is a better chance they will get created if I have a recipe.
I am enquiring about the sweet and sour chicken dish as to a workable substitute for the corn starch. My son, 8 years old, and I have bonus allergies of corn, dairy and soy. With baking I use guar gum, x. gum and yeast usually made from corn, El Peto from Ontario, Canada make yeast from potatoes. So there is always a way to work around the corn issue, but it is frustrating as many people do not think of corn as an allergy food. Also, in one of your other recipes, can’t remember which one, there was milk powder and egg replacer, what would be a replacement for each of these ? Amazingly, we are good with eggs. Thanks again for the recipes.
I’ve been planning on looking up a GF s&s sauce. Perfect timing. Thanks.
AWESOME!
Used for sweet and sour shrimp. I got a quick and easy recipe for the sauce and used my GF Soy Sauce. Steamed some rice and vegies and had a full course lunch!
These look AMAZING! We are not a gluten free family however we ARE a tree nut and seafood free family (my husband cannot eat seafood, so we can’t ‘order’ chinese take out for fear of cross contamination)
I do have a question about this recipe though, we do not own a deep fryer or a dutch oven, how else could I cook these (and no, fatty food is NOT an issue when it comes to these yummmmmmy looking chicken balls!)
Ah, yes, cross contamination would be an issue with your family as well! Do you have a larger pot with a thick bottom (a bit heavier, not just a thin pot?). When deep frying on the stove, always use a frying thermometer to make sure the oil isn’t getting too hot!
I don’t have a ‘thick’ bottom pot, I was thinking I could just heat up veggie oil to deep fry the chicken balls, but am not sure that I wouldn’t catch the kitchen on fire lol
Hmm…maybe it’s time to get one.
Kidding, whatever you do, please be careful!
I think I will have to wait until I have the proper tools to make these, shame though, they look and sound AMAZING!
(it’s worth the wait)
Sounds like a good excuse to go shopping.
Made the chicken balls and sweet n sour sauce tonight…Wow! I haven’t had Chinese since being diagnosed this summer. This was a great, easy, delicious recipe–as good as or better than any sweet n sour chicken I’ve ever had! The only thing I did differently was to use natural canned chicken, and sauté up some red, orange, and yellow peppers. The whole thing took about 30 minutes (with help from my hubby:). Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe!
Okay so I’ve actually been meaning to share this for a while now …. I make the batter for the chicken balls almost weekly. However I use it to batter fish. You are responsible for giving us back our Friday night fish fry. Oh and onion rings and omg deep fried mushrooms too! I halve the recipe for 1 lb of fish and substitute sorghum for the rice and sweet rice for the potato starch. So 1/2 of the all purpose mix would equal 1/4 cup sorghum + 2 Tbsp sweet rice flour + 2 Tbsp tapioca flour. Cut the meat , coat it with sweet rice then dip in batter – transfer to a plate to let excess drip then fry. Thought the substitutions might be useful to anyone avoiding rice or potatoes and maybe wanting calculations on the flour mix. I know when Gfree was new the mix ratios were a bit daunting especially when you don’t want to waste ingredients experimenting.
I am serving this up for dinner tonight. As I was cutting up my chicken I thought.. maybe I should just pop a couple in to taste test before serving to my family. OMG… they are amazing!! I just fried them up in veggie oil in my 5 quart skillet. I can’t wait to serve to my family and then tell them they are gluten free!! Thank you sooo much!!
What time is supper, Michelle??
I hope you like it as much as my family does, it’s a HUGE treat to have those for dinner! Have a fabulous weekend! 
Hi Jeanine,
I am Chinese (born in Indonesia though), so I made this forever (I don’t even have recipe, just beat some eggs, add flour and baking powder then water, lol). We made this with all sort of meats; chicken, pork, shrimp). This recipe is so versatile. When I became celiac, I just change my flour to whatever GF flour that I have and they work well, always. I however season my meat with salt and pepper, before I mix it in the dough. I also put a lot of scallions, which add to both the colour and taste.
I never put soy-sauce in sweet and sour. However, I put Chinese wine (you can get it in asian supermarket, but be careful, some of the brands ate not gluten free). I also love to put veggies (pineapple, cucumber, onion, bell pepper) to the mixture.
Sounds great, Vivi! thanks for all the additional suggestions.
What is in Chinese wine?
Not a clue, Penny. I’ve never seen it.
I wonder if we’d even miss that 1/2 tsp of soy sauce? (One of my kids has a soy allergy, too!) I’d love to make this!
Absolutely not, shouldn’t be a problem to omit it, just put in a pinch of salt instead.
Hi Jeanine:
Do you think your sweet and sour sauce could be used to make sweet and sour pork as well or does it work best as a dipping sauce?
I think it works best to pour over a cooked food, not sure how it would hold up to being cooked with the meat, it might get too thick and start to burn then.