SourdoughNative: Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken

Who doesn't love anything fried? Raise your hand...

I don't see any hands...

See, I know that we all "love" fried foods, but in reality, they're just really bad for your health. So what to do, what to do?

Don't forsake frying things, and it doesn't mean you have to give up all the really tasty things. I still "fry" foods, sparingly. I just have a hard time "deep frying" foods.

Plus, I hate making a mess of my stove, yeah I know~~I'm weird like that, ahem!

But, just take another look.....restaurant quality, actually it's better because YOU made it, with all the sweet & tangy goodness you expect when ordering out.

It does have a "short" fry session, using a minimal amount of oil, and baking it allows the sauce to get thick and sticky almost and adheres to the chicken with a delicious coating.

I think the cornstarch dredge is what really makes it light and the egg coats it in a way you would normally attribute the deep-frying would.

So, hey! This is actually healthy food...shhhhh, don't tell anyone.

You know you want to make this. Cuz it is just way too good not to.

Ingredients

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp each of Salt, pepper and garlic powder
1½ cups cornstarch
3 eggs, beaten
¼ cup oil, vegetable or canola

1 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
¼ cup white vinegar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 cup thinly slice carrots-opt.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
In separate shallow dishes, place cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs.
Place chicken into cornstarch, tossing to cover all and then coat in egg mixture.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until lightly browned-they won't have much color (you may need to do this in batches). Place the cooked chicken in a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with non stick spray.
Meanwhile, in a medium sized mixing bowl, combine sugar, ketchup, vinegars and soy sauce.
Pour mixture over chicken and bake for 1 hour. Stir the chicken every 15 minutes so that it is coated in the sauce.
Halfway through cooking, toss in carrots if using and continue to cook and stir through to the end.