Sweet and Sour Chicken

I make a lot of chicken. We eat it at least 3 times a week if not more. So I am always on the look out for different recipes. I have seen this recipe on soooooo many blogs. I wasnt sure it would be my thing because I dont think I have ever had Sweet and Sour chicken from a Chinese restaurant. But lately I have had a craving for Chinese food so I decided all these other people like it so maybe my family would as well. I also came upon a great book and a new way to look at food. Its called Food Rules by Michael Pollan. He is a NY Times Best Selling Author who gives basic food rules you should try to apply to your life. One of them that sticks out in my head is to only eat junk food if you cook it. Reason being you would be less likely to eat french fries if you had to make them everytime you eat them. This is also true in my house for take out. Pizza has already been perfected so now I believe I can check off Chinese as well.

If you have any affection for Chinese food at all you MUST make this chicken. I am not going to make you read on to find out what I thought, I am going to spoil it now. This is quite possibly one of the most delicious meals I have ever made in my kitchen. HOLY CROW it is amazing. I could have eaten the entire pan myself. Now I understand why so many people make it. While I wont be making it every week, if you are craving Chinese make this yourself, its better then anything you will find in a restaurant. On little hint, this does take an hour in the oven, and is slightly more involved then most of my recipes but its completely worth it and is very quick to get into the oven, but just hangs out there for awhile.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

borrowed from My Kitchen Cafe

Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.