The recipe I am sharing with you today is not only quite simple to make, but it is one that your family is sure to ask you to make fairly often. They are sure to fall in love with these tasty hot wraps! Sweet & Sour Chicken Wraps combine both our love of eating with our hands with our enjoyment of Oriental flavors!
Chicken tender pieces cooked in a lush sweet and sour sauce form the tasty basis of these fabulous wraps. Making the dish is as simple as stirring together a few ingredients and pouring them over the chicken in a baking dish prior to baking them in an oven. At the end of that time, you have fork-tender pieces of chicken, sticky and richly flavored. Perfectly done and ready to tuck into a whole wheat wrap along with some lettuce and your favorite blend of ready rice. Today I used coconut rice because that is all I could get, but normally I use an oriental blend. Easy peasy!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
This recipe uses remarkably simple ingredients. Some are fresh, and others most people will have in their store cupboards.
INGREDIENTS |
1 pound chicken tenders, trimmed |
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed |
Salt and black pepper to taste |
2 TBS corn-starch |
½ cup Chinese rice wine vinegar |
¾ cup sugar |
½ cup chicken stock |
4 TBS tomato ketchup |
1 TBS dark soy sauce |
1 pouch of cooked basmati rice (or two cups of cooked and seasoned rice) |
2 cups shredded lettuce |
4 large soft whole wheat tortillas (If you do not like whole wheat, use white) |
HINTS AND TIPS
If you follow my hints and tips, there is no reason why your wraps cannot be the best hot chicken wraps ever!
- Read the recipe carefully several times before beginning to make the recipe. This helps you to make sure that you have all the ingredients you will need for the recipe and familiarises you with any special equipment or techniques you might need. Well, being prepared means fewer mistakes and a much better outcome.
- Measure all your ingredients out and have them laid out ready to use, preferably in the order in which you will be using them.
- Preheat the oven prior to beginning and have your baking dish ready.
- Chicken tenders usually include a small white tendon at the underside of the thick end of the meat. This can be a bit on the tough side when cooked. I always remove this prior to cooking. It’s quite easy to do. Just hold the end of the tendon down with one hand and then using a sharp knife with the other hand, wiggle the knife at a slight angle down the length of the tendon to release it from the meat. Discard. You can also hold the end of the tendon with a knife and use a fork with the other hand to pull the tendon clean through. The tendon slides in between the fork prongs. This is very quick and works well.
- I always whisk the dry ingredients for the sauce together in a large measuring cup before adding the wet. This helps to prevent the corn starch from clumping together and distributes it more evenly.
Moreover
- Once you have the cornstarch and sugar mixed together you can whisk in the remaining sauce ingredients, ready to pour over the chicken.
- I put my chicken tenders into the dish I am going to bake them in and season them right in the dish, tossing them with the seasoning evenly.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken tenders and give them a good stir to mix everything together.
- I use pouches of ready-cooked rice for this which come in a variety of flavors. Normally I will use an oriental mix, but I was unable to find that this time around. I used coconut rice, which worked very well and tasted delicious. You can use any flavor you wish so long as it is compatible with the flavors of sweet and sour.
- Wash the lettuce and dry it well before cutting it crosswise into thin shreds. A thin shred makes rolling the finished wraps much easier to do.
- Do not be tempted to over-fill your wrap. An over-filled wrap is very messy and difficult to eat. You can secure them closed with a toothpick if you need to, but warn your family that the toothpicks are there so they can remove them prior to eating.
HOW TO MAKE SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN WRAPS
Preheat your oven to 350*F and have a baking dish large enough to hold your chicken pieces ready.
Prepare your chicken pieces by removing the tendon from each one as described above. You can also trim off any fat or skin and discard it.
Place your chicken into the baking dish and season it with the garlic salt and black pepper, tossing it together with your hands to make sure it all gets coated as evenly as you can.
Prep the sauce by whisking together the cornstarch and sugar in a large mixing beaker. Once you have the cornstarch evenly distributed, whisk in the chicken stock, vinegar, tomato ketchup, and soy sauce. Whisk everything together evenly and then pour this mixture over the chicken in the baking dish. Stir it all together to coat the chicken with the sauce.
Place the baking dish, uncovered, into the preheated oven. Bake for the required amount of time, giving the chicken a good stir every 15 minutes or so. At the end of the baking time, the chicken will be perfectly tender and beautifully glazed.
Try to resist the temptation to eat one now. It will be extremely hot. Keep warm while you prepare the remaining ingredients for the wraps.
Shred your lettuce for the recipe and pop your rice into the microwave to heat according to the package directions. Heat your tortillas according to package directions as well.
To assemble your wraps, and work quickly, lay a warm tortilla on each of the four heated plates. Place a line of shredded lettuce down the center of each. Top the lettuce with a portion of the heated rice, and then place several glazed chicken tenders on top of the rice. (You should use between two and three tenders per wrap depending on the size of the chicken pieces.) Drizzle with a bit more sauce. Wrap up tightly, ready to eat, and serve.
SUGGESTIONS FOR SERVING SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN WRAPS
If you are serving these for a main meal rather than a hot lunch I would suggest doubling the recipe for your hearty eaters. If your children are small, take care not to serve them while the chicken is hot as the sauce can easily scald. Also for young children, I would recommend using smaller tortillas (street taco size) and only putting one tender in each wrap. Alternatively, you can make chicken quesadillas for the very little ones. I often serve these with an oriental coleslaw on the side or a mix of raw vegetable sticks and dip.
I don’t know about your family but mine always enjoy a meal like this which is quite casual and a tad bit messy. These hot wraps may be a little bit different than your regular wraps, but they are quite scrumptious and fun to eat! My family always wants seconds, so I usually double the recipe.
Any leftovers can be reheated and served on their own with rice. If you stir in a few crispy tender cooked vegetables, such as carrots and broccoli, you almost have a sweet and sour stir fry. Tasty! Very convenient, isn’t it? Thus, make sure to try it out. Leftovers are not a problem anymore because saving them for later can make them taste even better. Totally worth it!
PrintSweet & Sour Chicken Wraps Recipe
There is no denying these easy wraps are downright delicious. Your family will want you to prepare them often! Plan ahead as the chicken needs to cook for about an hour.
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken tenders, trimmed
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 TBS corn-starch
- ½ cup Chinese rice wine vinegar
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 4 TBS tomato ketchup
- 1 TBS dark soy sauce
- 1 pouch of cooked basmati rice
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- 4 large whole wheat tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F. Place the chicken tenders into a shallow baking dish. Dust with salt and pepper.
- Whisk together the corn-starch, sugar, vinegar, chicken stock, ketchup, and soy sauce.
- Pour this mixture over the chicken in the baking dish. Stir it all around to coat the chicken.
- Cook in the preheated oven for about an hour, stirring every fifteen minutes, until the chicken is very tender and glazed. The sauce should be nice and thick. Set aside and keep warm.
- Heat the pouch of rice according to the package directions. Set aside and keep warm.
- Warm the tortillas as per package directions. Lay one on each of four heated plates. Top each tortilla with ¼ of the lettuce and ¼ of the rice, placing it down the center of each tortilla. Divide the chicken tenders between each tortilla. Close the wraps and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Category: Lunch
Nutrition
- Calories: 450
Are you looking for more ideas on what you can do with your chicken? Try out these recipes! Buffalo Chicken Salad, Buffalo Chicken Pasta, & Chicken Quesadilla.
Marie Rayner is a retired Chef, freelance writer, recipe developer, food blogger, and Cookbook author. She makes her home in Chester, UK, where she lives with her husband, Todd, and their much beloved English Cocker, Mitzie. Her motto is “Life is far too short to eat bad food,” and her goal is to share delicious and easy recipes which anyone can enjoy and cook in the comfort of their own home.