Sweet and Sour Chicken

I have always loved sweet and sour chicken from Chinese restaurants. It wasn't until I got older that the near radioactive color of the sauce began to bother me and I no longer ate it. When I came across this recipe to make it at home, I jumped on it! It's absolutely delicious! Unfortunately, it's very time-consuming to make (as in two and a half to three hours) so I only make it a couple times a year. Since it was my oldest daughter's birthday this week and she requested it, I made it last night.

I have tweaked the recipe, but only very slightly and it's mostly due to personal preferences. Like, I dip my chicken in egg before I coat it in cornstarch, it's less messy. And I use my deep fryer instead of frying in the skillet, it's a lot faster. Also, I highly recommend doubling or even tripling the sauce. I use more chicken than the recipe calls so I have to double it just to get every piece coated in sauce. I also like to drizzle some on my rice too, so I usually end up tripling it.

Here is the original recipe:

Sweet and Sour Chicken

For the Chicken:
3-4 boneless,skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, slightly beaten
¼ cup canola or vegetable oil

For the Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar (preferably rice or white)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Working in two batches, toss the chicken pieces in cornstarch and then coat with the egg. Heat the oil over medium-high heat and again in two batches, brown the chicken, turning it so that all sides are browned.
4. Place the chicken in a single layer in a 9x13 baking dish.
5. Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and pour evenly over the chicken. Turn the chicken to ensure each piece is coated.
6. Bake for 1 hour, turning the chicken every 15 minutes.
7. Serve over hot cooked rice.