Since I Can't Take My Boys

 

My oldest son is allergic to tree nuts, so we can't take him out for Chinese food because of the possibility of cross contamination (since most Chinese restaurants make Cashew Chicken or Honey Walnut Shrimp). Before we realized that this was just too much of a risk to take, my son developed a love of fried rice and Chinese chicken. So, I have been hunting down recipes that I can make at home to satisfy that craving (for all of us!).

I just made this, and it is fantastic. I can't wait to try more of (and eventually all of) the Asian inspired recipes on Chung-Ah's site!

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch chunks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I used 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I used 1 teaspoon of bottled minced garlic)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.

To make the sauce, whisk together sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, and garlic powder in a large bowl; set aside.

In a large bowl, season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in cornstarch and gently toss to combine. Working one at a time, dip the chicken into the eggs.

Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; discard excess oil.

Add chicken to prepared baking dish. Top with sweet and sour sauce. Place into oven and bake until the sauce has thickened, about 55 minutes, turning over every 15 minutes to evenly coat the chicken.

Serve immediately.

Source: You can find it here. It was inspired by this recipe which is slightly different.


Notes: Holy cow, this was so good! I can't believe how much it tasted like something you would get in a Chinese restaurant. I chose this recipe simply based on the ingredients I had on hand (it was a last minute decision to make this). However, now I can't wait to try other recipes on this site!