Vegan Sweet and Sour Chickpeas
A vegan sweet and sour chickpeas recipe that is better than chinese takeout ! This filling and healthy recipe is perfect for that plant-based dinner.
One of my childhood favourite dish is sweet and sour chicken. We will always order sweet and sour chicken as one of our main dishes when dining at Chinese restaurants. ( Me and my family are creature of habits, we will literally order the same dishes over and over again 🙂 )
I had put off the thought to veganise this famous Chinese dish for a while assuming it will be complicated. After reading various recipe of this dish, I had finally came up with a much more simple version. To replace the main protein source in this dish – chicken, I am using chickpeas. Chickpeas are the perfect substitute for meat as it is also high in protein. Thus, making this dish much more filling and satiable. ( plus, I am trying to incorporate more protein in my diet for the gainzzz)
Easy Healthy Vegan Sweet And Sour Chickpeas :
This version of sweet and sour chickpeas is the simplified version of the traditional ones ( Please don’t come at me ! ) Traditionally, there are lots of exotic ingredients needed in the making of this dish. I had substituted them with common ingredients that you can easily find anywhere.
This sweet and sour chickpeas recipe is also healthy and actually good for you ! It is low in sugar , sodium and oil. It also can be made gluten-free by simply substituting the soy sauce with tamari.
Did I tell you that this dish is approved by non-vegans? For those of you who don’t know, I am the only vegan in my family. It is really hard to get they approval as they are all foodies. When they all like this dish, I know that I had created something good, like REALLY GOOD. My brother, who is the biggest food critic, even gave this sweet and sour chickpeas a 10/10 !
Here are more vegan dinner recipes :
Vegan Sweet And Sour Chickpeas
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 4 tablespoon date syrup* ( or any other sweetener of choice )
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon corn starch
- 1/2 cup water
- salt to taste
Veggies and chickpeas
- 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked** ( or 3 cups cooked chickpeas )
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1/2 red pepper, diced
- 1/2 yellow pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup diced pineapple
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce ( sub for tamari if gluten-free )
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the chickpeas and soy sauce . Coat well. Let it sit for at least an hour.
- Heat up some oil in a medium pan. Add in the garlic and red onion. Stir-fry it for a few minutes or until the onion is translucent.
- Add in the rest of the veggies. Stir-fry for another 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Add 2 tbsp of water to the cornstarch. Mix well.
- Add all the sauce ingredients to a pan, including the cornstarch. Here, you may need to add more salt, sweetener or vinegar depending on your preference .
- Add in the veggies and the chickpeas to the sauce.
- Bring it to a boil and cover it. Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce thickens up. You might need to add more water until desired consistency.
- Serve it with some rice on the side !
Notes
