Food Friday: Sweet and Sour Chicken

*I adjusted the amount of sugar in the sauce. The original amount was a typo.
My husband does not like Chinese food. It has been a point of contention our entire marriage. We have an unspoken agreement that we don't go out for Chinese food except maybe once a year and if I cook something Chinese he will politely eat it but not go back for seconds. I made this last week with those expectations. I was ok with this, because I wanted to try the recipe and I can't avoid all Chinese food for the rest of my life! Well, wasn't I surprised when he not only devoured it but seemed genuinely shocked when I told him it was made from scratch. And declared it "legit". There you have it. Now if you like Chinese food even a little bit you need to make this. It is a little labor intensive, but so worth it. The original recipe comes from melskitchencafe.com but I tweaked it a little bit. I served it on white rice (I usually go for brown but I was really trying to win him over) with a side of broccoli. Yumm!

Modified from Mel's Kitchen Cafe
INGREDIENTS:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 7-9 tenderloins
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
Sauce:
1 cup + 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
6 tablespoons ketchup
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. chili flakes
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip each piece over to cook on the other side until nicely golden but not all the way cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl. Pour half the sauce over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Simmer the other half of the sauce in a small sauce pan to thicken. Serve over hot, steamed rice with extra sauce on the side.