The Ultimate Sweet & Sour Chicken, aka "Crack Chicken"

Okay. I apologize in advance for sharing this recipe with you...welcome to your new favorite family meal! I could literally sit down and house the entire dish. No rice needed, just me, my couch and a shovel.  I realize I shouldn't admit these things out loud but once you've made this chicken, you'll understand. 

I discovered this recipe when Shannon brought it to work for her lunch. I was sure she found some Chinese restaurant in our area that I had to know about. This being one of the food categories that I have missed most since moving out of NJ I just had to know where it came from. Where else but  Pinterest?! 

I have tried this recipe a few different ways over the last year and the bottom line is, semi-frying your chicken is the way to go.  We tried just lightly browning the chicken without a coating, eh. Not ideal. It works if you want to avoid the whole frying process. I'm actually considering buying a small deep fryer to speed along the process. I know, I know who am I Paula Deen?  I've made this recipe enough to recognize that it might be time. There is a reason we call it crack chicken.

[Offering someone food and secretly 

hoping they'll say no]

It's that kind of chicken. 

I have found that it's much easier to ignore the amount of cornstarch you need to use (see below) and just stick the chicken in a bowl and add cornstarch until the chicken is fully coated. I don't know about you, but I can't stand wasting eggs and flour/dry ingredients when I do this kind of a recipe.

For the next process, I prefer to use my fingers to move the chicken from the egg mixture to the oil as I feel it moves the process along quite nicely. If you're afraid of searing, hot oil, please don't.  Once you have finished the laborious task of lightly frying your chicken, it's time to pour the liquid gold sauce over your chicken then bake.  I realize having to return to the chicken every 15 minutes to turn might seem like the worst part...its not. Go do some laundry or start clean-up from the first part of this recipe. 

{Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken}

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
salt + pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2-3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Sweet & Sour Sauce:
1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup ketchup
1 cup distilled white vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp garlic salt

Equipment:
Large stainless steel frying pan or fryer
Tongs to flip chicken in oil
1 large bowl for coating chicken

1 bowl for your eggs + fork

Extras:

Broccoli, lightly steamed and added at the end

Rice - we like to mix white and whole grain rice to balance out what the SH likes and what I think is a good choice to make...although it's a little like ordering a Big Mac and a Diet Coke. Anyway!

Directions:
Read the entire recipe before starting - I will never stop saying that! Start by preheating your oven to 325^oF.  Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk & set aside.  

Rinse your chicken breasts in water, dry completely and cut into cubes and season with salt and pepper.

Heat your ¼ - ½  cup oil in a large skillet.

Toss all the chicken in a large bowl with the cornstarch, coat thoroughly.

Dip the chicken in the eggs and place enough chicken evenly spread out in your skillet. Cook the chicken until lightly browned on each side but not cooked through.  Place the chicken on a paper towel to soak up extra oil and then in a 9x13 prepared baking dish. Repeat process until all the chicken has been coated and fried.

Once the chicken has lined the pan, pour the sweet & sour sauce evenly over the chicken. Bake for [1] hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes. [Be careful when opening your oven, the vinegar is evaporating and can burn your eyes, open the oven door, give it a few seconds then pull out the dish and stir]
Turn your chicken by simply using a slotted or large spoon and turning the chicken over in batches and redistributing the sauce. No need to be super technical about this process, it’s just to coat the chicken in the sauce. After the hour is over, remove, let cool slightly. Enjoy over rice, with broccoli or with toothpicks as an appetizer.

Original recipe:  http://life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried.html?m=1