Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
by Chungah
No need to order take-out anymore – this homemade version is so much healthier and a million times tastier!
I am a complete sucker for sweet and sour chicken when it comes to take-out. But it’s been hard to find a place that has it down perfectly – crisp on the outside yet completely juicy and flavorful with a sweet and sour punch. Thankfully, I found a homemade version from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe that has it down to a tee.
What makes this recipe so perfect is that the chicken is first fried to get that crisp exterior. Then it gets baked in a low temperature for an hour, really letting the sweet and sour flavors meld right into the chicken. I was worried that the chicken would get overcooked but it was actually so unbelievably tender. And the flavor packs in quite a punch!
The cooking time takes a little over an hour but I promise you – this version is well worth the effort!
Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
For the sweet and sour sauce
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- To make the sauce, whisk together sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic powder in a large bowl; set aside.
- In a large bowl, season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in cornstarch and gently toss to combine. Working one at a time, dip the chicken into the eggs.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; discard excess oil.
- Add chicken to prepared baking dish. Top with sweet and sour sauce. Place into oven and bake until the sauce has thickened, about 55 minutes, turning over every 15 minutes to evenly coat the chicken.
- Serve immediately.
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My mouth just watered up… I want this, now. At midnight! It looks damn, DAMN GOOD!
This is a great recipe!!! My son always ask when am I going to make the sweet and sour sauce again. It even works with pork chops
I LOVE this recipe! I have made it in bulk several times, using pork roast or chicken. Sometimes I add onions and bell peppers or even a bit of jalapeño for spice. I cook up rice, put the finished product over rice into microwaveable, freezer ware. Then, when we are in a rush for dinner, I pop them into the microwave, and they turn out PERFECT every time!
Hiii! I baked the chicken and my sauce did not get thick! How do
I make it thick?!!! But I baked it for 55 minutes and don’t want it to get over cooked
You can add cornstarch as needed, 1 tsp at a time, (to the sauce, not the chicken) until the desired consistency is reached.
While my chicken was cooking, I put my sauce on the stove to simmer & reduce. I had made extra sauce, and I didn’t think it would reduce enough in the oven to thicken a little. That helped a lot, and there was still plenty of sauce. Even so, it could have been a little thicker. Next time I might even add a little bit of cornstarch to the sauce itself beforehand.
Thank you so much for sharing that you freeze it and have tried it with pork roast.
I don’thave cornstarch. Is there anything else I could use?
You can try using all-purpose flour.
Ok. I don’t have any vinegar. Anything else?
You can certainly try substituting something else for the vinegar but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. Using a substitution may also result in a mediocre outcome.
lime,lemon juice
Potato Starch! Turned out just fine!
I used cornflour
hi does this recipe work out just as well with corn flour??
as I dont have corn starch..
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
“Corn flour” is a British term for “cornstarch”.
Just like they call “cookies” biscuits and the “trunk of a car” a “boot”.
Same/same, just a different name……. :))
cornstarch is Cornflour cheap and cheerful used in baking thickening agents for gravies and sauces even buy it in the corner shop. Buy some next shop should always be part of the larder.
I made it last is tooooo good. I am not a fan of cider vinegar, but it didn’t matter. Whole family loved it. Best I have ever had!
This was SO good. I was looking for a recipe to go with crab wontons that I planned to make and came across this. My husband isn’t a huge Chinese food lover like my daughter and me but he even loved this! I made the recipe exactly as stated and made another batch of the sauce separately on the off chance we’d need extra (great idea!!). I served it over rice with roasted broccoli and then sprinkled green onion and sesame seeds over the top. It was definitely a hit and even great the next day! A keeper around my house, thank you for an awesome alternative to take-out.