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Chinese Fakeout: Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

This baked Sweet and Sour Chicken tastes just as good (if not better) than the deep-fried version from your local Chinese takeout. You get the crispy crust, and the sauce has the perfect balance of sweet and sour. There's a little bit of vegetable prep for the carrots, onions and bell pepper. Once the dish is in the oven, you can tidy up the kitchen and make rice. We love this recipe!
Course main
Cuisine American, Chinese
Keyword Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken, Chinese Fakeout: Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 53 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Ingredients

CHICKEN BREADING:

  • 3 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 1/2 pounds, cut in bite-size pieces)
  • 3 eggs I used two
  • 1/2 cup flour

CORNSTARCH MIXTURE:

  • 1 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:

  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice from 20 ounce pineapple tidbits can below
  • 1 cup red wine vinegar reduce to 3/4 cup
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons ketchup 6-tablespoons
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

VEGETABLE/PINEAPPLES:

  • 1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits
  • 1 green bell pepper chopped (we prefer larger chunks and all red bell pepper)
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 cup carrots sliced as THIN as possible (2 to 3 carrots)

Instructions

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

  • Add "Sweet and Sour Sauce" ingredients to a medium/large saucepan, stir and bring to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer.
    Allow to simmer while you prepare the chicken and dice the vegetables, stirring occasionally (turn off if longer than 20 minutes).
    Note: the sauce will not thicken, simmering is to soften the onions and blend flavors.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9x13- inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Coat the chicken:

  • Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, set aside.
  • Add 1/2 cup flour to a large freezer bag; set aside next to eggs.
  • Whisk cornstarch, garlic powder, salt, pepper, ginger powder and onion powder in medium bowl; set aside next to flour.
  • Add chicken to eggs and coat, then remove, allowing excess to drip off, then add to freezer bag with flour.
  • Toss until evenly coated then discard any extra flour.
  • Add cornstarch/spices to the chicken in the freezer bag and shake until evenly coated.

Cook the chicken:

  • Over high heat, heat enough oil (any kind) to generously cover the bottom of a large skillet until hot and rippling.
  • Add chicken and cook 1-2 minutes per side, or until browned but not cooked through. (You may need to cook in 2 batches depending on size of your skillet). Transfer chicken to prepared 9x13-inch baking dish.
  • Add carrots pineapple and peppers to the sweet and sauce and mix until well combined.
  • Pour sauce over chicken and stir until sauce/chicken/vegetables are evenly combined. Cook, uncovered for 50 minutes or until sauce is thickened*, stirring occasionally.

Notes

NOTE:  I found that the sauce didn't quite thicken, to
my liking.  No worries. I carefully drained out the thin sauce into a
saucepan and added a slurry of cornstarch and water (about 1 heaping
tablespoon and enough water to whisk until there were no lumps and it
was smooth).  That did the trick, and I poured it all over the chicken
and it was perfect.
RECIPE SOURCE: "Carlsbad Cravings"