Sweet and Sour Chicken on Chinese New Year

This year for Chinese New Year, all of us are not feeling well. So, we are having a low-key celebration to acknowledge this important date and how blessed our lives have been since adopting Sophia and Olivia.

I took a look at my Chinese New Year board on Pinterest and found a pin for a recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken that led to Mel's Kitchen. The recipe serves 4-6 people.

The recipes notes that if extra sauce is desired, to double the sauce ingredients. Half of the sauce should be poured over the chicken. The other half should be put into a small saucepan and cooked on the stove at a simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.

I did not make an extra batch of sauce. However, the girls both said they would like more sauce next time. It was fine as it was with a single batch of sauce.

Sweet and Sour Chicken that 

I made for Chinese New Year.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten (I used three eggs)
1/4 cup canola, vegetable or coconut oil

Sauce:
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you want the sauce - I used somewhere between 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar)
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 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. (Note: I just added the cornstarch to the bowl that the chicken was in and stirred it.)

Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until very hot and rippling. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet.

Cook for 20-30 seconds on each side until the crust is golden but the chicken is not all the way cooked through (this is where it's very important to have a hot skillet/oil). Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in a 9x13-inch baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. (Note: the oil was getting low about when I was three-fourths completed with the chicken. I had to add some more oil to the pan and let it heat to a high temperature again.)

The fried chicken pieces.

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce.

The finished chicken with sauce.

Serve over hot, steamed rice.

Dinner for Chinese New Year. 

I really should have used our place mats from China. 

However, it was late and we were ready to eat. 

Olivia is working on a 1,000-piece puzzle on the dining room table. 

Thus, the puzzle box is in the picture.