Skip the take out – this Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe is so good that you’ll put it on the permanent rotation. Chicken is coated in a sweet and sticky sauce and baked to perfection.
Years ago, I worked in an office where they would bring in lunch every day. I mostly skipped that lunch and opted to head home for my lunch hour instead, but every once in awhile, I’d stick around and have some of the lunch that was provided that day.
I remember one day, (I was pregnant with my first child, so let’s blame this on pregnancy haha), the lunch was from a local Chinese restaurant. And it smelled so good. So I decided to have lunch at work that day. I chose out an egg roll and some sweet and sour chicken, then went to my desk to eat – only to be completely disappointed. It was not good at all, and I don’t think I even ended up eating it.
That is what led me to this recipe so many years ago. It has now been here on Taste and Tell for over 10 years and remains a favorite for a good reason – it’s so stinking good. It’s one of those rare meals that everyone in my family likes. And yes – it’s so much better than that takeout sweet and sour chicken! I think I’ll forget the take-out Chinese from now on and make this Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe!
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken
This recipe is a little different, but trust me here!
- Start by cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces and seasoning them with salt and pepper.
- Place the cornstarch in one shallow bowl, and the eggs in another shallow bowl. Beat the eggs lightly.
- Take each piece of chicken and dredge it in the cornstarch. Then dip it in the egg. Transfer that to a skillet with oil that has been heated over medium-high heat. And yes – you dip in the cornstarch then the egg – this is a little different than a lot of other recipes.
- Cook the chicken in batches, just until it is browned. The chicken will bake in the oven, so this is just to brown and crisp up the chicken, not to cook it through. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish.
- In a bowl, combine your sauce ingredients – sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic powder. Pour this mixture over the chicken in the baking dish.
- Bake the chicken at 325ºF for an hour, stirring it every 15 minutes.
- Serve the sweet and sour chicken over rice and be prepared to never want to get it for take out again!
More Chinese Recipes
Daddy Wu’s Chinese Chicken
Pressure Cooker Cashew Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
Easy Lo Mein Recipe
Easy Egg Roll Recipe
Orange Chicken
General Tso’s Chicken
Tools Used to Make this Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
- My favorite skillet, especially for this recipe, is my cast iron skillet.
- I like to use tongs to dredge the chicken into the cornstarch, eggs and oil.
- I love my rice cooker and rarely cook rice any other way.
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Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 3 eggs ,lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoon ketchup
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
- Put the cornstarch in a shallow bowl. Put the eggs in a separate bowl. Place the oil in a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Working in batches, dredge the chicken in the cornstarch, then dip in the egg. Add to the hot oil and brown on all sides. You do not need to cook the chicken through, just brown the outside to get a crispy exterior. Transfer the chicken to a 9×13-inch baking dish and continue with the remaining chicken.
- In a bowl, combine the sugar, ketchup, cider vinegar, soy sauce and garlic powder. Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken.
- Bake the chicken for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Serve over prepared rice.
LyB says
That sounds just delicious, and simple too, that’s always a plus! Hope things will get better at your job. 🙂
Meeta says
This sounds lovely. We have a University cafeteria and just like you I go there on occasions because I think I would have the same weight problem!
But I like the sound of this! Yummy!
Emiline says
Mmm, that looks good. Is this taken with your new camera? Your pictures are always good.
Your job sounds like fun. I would love free food. Hey, you take advantage of it.
Well, when it’s good anyway.
Peabody says
It’s one of the few things I never make at home. It just never seems to work out as well as my favorite Chinese place.
Yours looks like it turned out really well though. Makes me want to give it another try.
Joe Horn says
Looks great. I love anything with chicken because of the low calories. Thanks!!!
Paula says
Guess I should clarify my gluten free comment … we only use wheat free soy sauce, so that makes it gluten free for us! The absence of wheat flour in the chicken batter is genius!
Paula says
Sweet and sour chicken is the one Chinese dish my oldest daughter will eat. I love what you did here. And, I had to muffle a cheer because your recipe is gluten free, too! Yipee! Great post! This will get made in my kitchen! YUM!
KJ says
This looks so good. Really delicious!!
Lisa says
This looks much better than take out.
Elle says
This is a yummy sounding version of sweet and sour…a winner! Glad you are taking that hour to eat well (and maybe rest a little?)…you will have the most gorgeous baby…I just know it.
Mrs Ergül says
I have recently made 1 sweet and sour chicken too. The only difference is that I pan-fried the chicken chunks instead of baking them!
Jenny says
Yum, I could go for some sweet and sour chicken right about now. It looks great!
Sophie says
I probably would’ve thrown it away too, especially after coming across this recipe. Thanks for posting this. I only eat this every once in a blue moon, but I’m never the one who makes it :D…that’s going to change now :).
Mandy says
I am so glad you posted this recipe. I feel like I have Tex-Mex and Italian food down pretty well…but Asian food, thats a different story. I tried stir-fry once (I know, how can you screw that up?) and I screwed it up big time. Your recipe looks so good and sounds so straight forward. I will let you know how mine turns out.
CECIL says
There is nothing like good old sweet sour chicken!! Come to think of it, this was the first dish I made for my husband when we were dating!!
You did a great job!
noble pig says
I love the crispy look, so beautiful! I bet the baby loved it too!