Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is one of my favorite make-your-own-Chinese recipes that I found on My Kitchen Cafe. It can seem like a lot of work, but I promise, it is well worth it! It does make about 2x the amount my husband and I can eat for one meal, but we always enjoy the leftovers. I have had problems with the oil starting to burn the pieces of the breading that get left behind in the pan. However, last night I tried switching the oil out half way through cooking all of the chicken and it worked a lot better! You could probably also skip frying the chicken in the cornstarch and egg altogether if you'd like and just baste chicken with the sweet and sour sauce (if you do this, leave a comment telling me how it worked out. I've thought about doing it several times but I always end up following the recipe because it's so good!). So if you are like me and crave Chinese food on a regular basis and don't want to spend the money on it (or if you are really like me and you aren't satisfied with the Chinese restaurants located in your town) give this recipe a try and you won't be sorry!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

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.