Sweet and Sour Chicken a la Caili

So, I love my blog, and I love blogging. And since I don't have tons of big house projects to post about anymore, I've decided that I'm going to use this as a forum for ANYTHING I want to write about as long as it is somehow 906 related. Case in point... cooking in our new kitchen!!

I'm not a really great cook, and I know that. But, I try hard, and lately I've been getting more and more into cooking and when I get a good recipe to follow I sometimes (often!) end up with something great... such as the dinner I made last night - Sweet & Sour Chicken!

At work, my friends Caili, Stacey and I spend considerable amounts of time talking about recipes and cooking, and this recipe is one Caili has been urging us to make for months. I couldn't be happier that I finally tried it out last night! It's perfect for a weekend dinner when you can start cooking early and not be starving by the time it's done. It's also great for "beginners" like me, since all of the ingredients are things that are typically already in your fridge or pantry - (I get frustrated with recipes that require me to buy random things I'll only use when making that particular dish).

Now, finish reading this post, then grab all these simple ingredients and make this for dinner tonight. Seriously. I'm not kidding, this stuff gives takeout a run for its money.


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. Serve over rice. 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.

YUM!!!

A few things I learned while making this last night -
1. You probably don't need an entire cup of cornstarch. I ended up throwing a bunch away. Next time, I'll use a 1/2 cup and just dump a little more in the bowl if I need it.
2. I need to invest in some tongs. When frying the chicken I ended up losing some of the breading because turning the pieces with a spoon or fork was a little rough. I think tongs would have helped mine to be as pretty as the picture above.
3. A 9x13 baking dish is not big enough to bake the chicken in a single layer as the recipe suggests. Mine still turned out great, but again, the breading may have stuck better if the chicken had been more spread out.

Original recipe and photo from My Kitchen Cafe