Sweet and Sour Chicken

My husband and I really love this recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken. It is a lot of work compared to things I usually make- first, you have to chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. Then, coat in cornstarch, then beaten egg, and lightly fry in shallow oil. You then whip up a quick sauce and pour it over the chicken in a 9x13 baking dish and bake for an hour. All of this to say- this recipe is worth the work! It has a great taste and texture. The leftovers are great too, just warmed up in the microwave. I've made this twice, and just serve it with steamed broccoli (frozen brocc, since I'm too tired to chop any broccoli after preparing this, lol!)

Note: I double the sauce on this..... I'm re-writing the recipe below with that change. 

Sweet and Sour Chicken 

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds- chicken tenders are also good!)
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten (may need an extra egg near the end of the dipping/coating)
¼ cup canola, vegetable or sunflower oil (may need extra oil near the end of frying)

Sauce:

¾ cup granulated sugar, depending on how sweet you want the sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1 cup apple cider vinegar (can use a mix of this and rice vinegar)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoon garlic salt

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cut the chicken into 1-inch or slightly larger pieces. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a large bowl. Put the chicken into the bowl with the cornstarch. Using a good pair of tongs, move the chicken around to coat it in cornstarch thoroughly. 

2.  Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until very hot and rippling. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces into the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet. (Another set of tongs is great for this part- one set for the cornstarch bowl, one for the egg bowl. I actually use a third pair for the frying part.) 

3.  Cook for 20-30 seconds on each side until the crust is golden but the chicken is not all the way cooked through (this is where it’s really important to have a hot skillet/oil). Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in a 9X13-inch baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. (Note: While one batch of chicken is frying, prepare the next batch by placing some cornstarch-coated pieces in the egg wash and coating them with that.) 

4.  Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. (My chicken seems to be perfect at 50 minutes. Check here, and if anything seems to be drying out at all, remove from the oven and serve.) Serve over hot, steamed rice.

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