Fake Ginger

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken – tastes just like takeout! Chicken is quickly browned and then baked in a delicious, sticky sweet and sour sauce! 

I have recently developed a severe aversion to any recipe that calls for ketchup.

Weird because I heart ketchup and some of my family’s favorite recipes in the past have used the stuff!

But for some reason, I just don’t love the idea of using it these days.

I told you guys that I’ve been having real trouble cooking actual meals, huh?

I’m trying to break the bad habits because… well, for one, they’re bad. And two, eventually I will have to get back to cooking actual meals on an actual normal person schedule. Yesterday I realized that I had all the ingredients for this recipe (including ketchup) and knew it would be a guaranteed winner with my kids.

It was, as expected, well received.

Sweet and Sour Chicken!

I halved the recipe and between my two older kids, there were zero leftovers. The sauce tastes exactly like Chinese takeout sweet and sour! I hadn’t really expected much because of the whole ketchup thing so I was shocked at how similar it was. This one will definitely be made frequently around here.

 

Print
Sweet and Sour Chicken
from Life as a Lofthouse
Ingredients
For the chicken:
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • salt + pepper
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
For the sauce:
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoons ketchup
  • ½ cup white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with oil.
  2. Cut your chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Put the cornstarch in a pie plate (or something similar). In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.
  4. Coat the chicken pieces with cornstarch, then dip into the eggs.
  5. Heat your ¼ cup oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides but not cooked through.
  6. While your chicken is cooking, whisk together all ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
  7. When chicken is browned, use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to the prepared baking dish. Pour the sauce over top.
  8. Bake for one hour; stirring the chicken every 15 minutes. Serve over rice.

Things you may need for this recipe:

Want more chicken recipes?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Cheri @ Kitchen Comments says

    Looks delicious! My oldest daughter has been begging me to either make “nachos” or “sweet & sour chicken” so I may have to try this one out (minus the frying) Thanks for your great recipe posts!

    Reply

  5. kita says

    I usually back away from ketchup in Asian recipes. Something about it freaks me out – but I can see how it would work well in sweet and sour chicken. This looks like something I need to try on ‘take-out’ night.

    Reply

  6. Gayle Ladd says

    I made your non-frying version for dinner last night. When I took it out of the oven, the ‘sauce’ was very runny – wondering what I did wrong, I realized that by not frying the chicken, you omit the corn starch, thereby it wasn’t thick. I mixed some cornstarch with cold water, added it to the sauce and stuck it back in the oven – PRESTO!! It magically thickened and I have to say it was VERY tasty!! Thanks for the recipe!!

    Reply

    • amanda says

      Dang. I was hoping an hour in the oven would help it thicken up on it’s own. Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply

  8. ta3mam says

    It seems great… I will try for sure !
    I boight some sweet and sour sauce a few weeks ago… Bad idea ! Taste was so bad. Thanks for the recipe !

    Reply

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