Monday, January 26, 2009

Sweet and Sour Chicken

 I could literally eat this meal every night-it's really that good! This is one of the many recipes I've gotten from my best friend here in my small town, Mel. It's been passed along the blogging world many times over. Let me just promise you that this sweet and sour chicken is better than any you will find at Chinese Resturaunts, and my dad even said that it puts PF Changs to shame!

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Mel's Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips or chunks
accent and garlic powder OR salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup oil, veggie or canola


Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks or strips. Season with accent and garlic powder or 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. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. I like to baste the chicken the first 15 minutes and then turn the rest, just so the breading doesn't break apart.


Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
1/4 (4 Tbsp) cup ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon accent or garlic salt

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.

9 comments:

Melanie said...

Wow - that's a good compliment from your dad!

Maggie said...

I like how simple and kid friendly this is. It looks delicious!

Brooke said...

I LOVEEEEE your sweet and sour chicken! its the best and easy to make.. if I can make it anyone can!! soo yum

Brenda said...

Stumbled upon your website, and I have a quick question... What is accent?

Thanks a bunch!!

Nicole said...

Hey Brenda-
Accent is a spice used in a lot of oriental cooking, and as far as I know is the same as MSG, so if you are sensitive to MSG, be aware of that.Y ou can find accent in the spice aisle next to salt and pepper, or in the oriental aisle. When I don't have it on hand I just sprinkle with salt and pepper it still turns out wonderful. IN fact the gal I got this recipe from changed hers to salt and pepper. Hope that helps!

Brook said...

Hey there! I just made this for dinner!! It is delicious! I didn't have a plan today, but I knew you'd have something good! ;)I used beef instead of ckn, and it is still good. Did you ever know you'd be so talented?

Unknown said...

Hello. I'd like to make this for my husband's birthday, but he's a bit of an odd duck and while he loves sweet and sour chicken, he prefers it to be completely sauceless, as he only likes the style of chicken. I have several allergies though, so generally when he gets it, we're actually unable to kiss for hours afterward. As this is for his birthday, clearly that won't do.

My question is this. While the recipe is safe for me, you bake it in the sauce. If I were to forgo that step, how long should I fry it for and should I still bake it?

Also, I apologize if I have a comment pending. I wrote out a comment, signed in, and I believe it was then eaten by the invisible spider that lives on the world wide web.

Thank you for your time and I hope you're able to help.

Nicole said...

Hey ROBYN-without the sauce this would just be fried chicken and not have much flavor. My suggestion for you is to bake it in the sauce and strain it after its baked. The chicken really does soak up most of the sauce and I don't usually have much leftover so it's not really "saucy" anyways. You could also cut the sauce in half but if you do that make sure you baste it often while baking...but it might make the chicken dry too. You'lol have to let me know how it goes.

Nicole said...

If you do decide just to fry it and not do the sauce all together you may or may not have to bake it depending if the chicken is cooked through just from frying. The sauce will thicken up over the stove top too if you wanted to make some on the side