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My sister Anna shared this sweet and sour chicken recipe with me because her family absolutely loved it. It’s a winner indeed; the best orange chicken I’ve ever tried! Anyway, I pinned it for safe keeping and finally whipped it out.
My son’s eyes lit up when he realized he was having “Panda” for dinner – in his world, all Asian food is “Panda.” Except, this is way way WAY better than takeout! I’m super thrilled that I know exactly what went into this sweet and sour chicken; no preservatives and I even used organic chicken. #patontheback for Mom :).
I tracked down the original recipe source and it was the talented Mel of Mel’s Kitchen Cafe who said it was easily the most popular recipe on her blog (yeah – I can see why!). The only thing I changed was adding an extra egg for easier coating.
This really is quite a treat. Make it tonight!
Ingredients for Orange Chicken:
2 lbs (about 4 Medium) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup cornstarch
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup extra light olive oil, canola or vegetable oil to saute, plus more as needed
Ingredients for the Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken:
1. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper.
2. Place 1 cup cornstarch into a gallon-sized ziploc bag, add chicken and toss to coat (go on, toss it up, just make sure the bag is closed; that part is important).
3. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large, heavy bottom pot (I used my French oven with nice tall walls to reduce splatterage on the stove).
4. In a shallow dish, whisk together 3 eggs. Dip the cornstarch-dredged chicken pieces into the beaten egg, coating both sides then transfer the chicken to the very hot oil.
5. Cook chicken in hot oil about 30 seconds per side or until golden. Having very hot oil is key. You don’t want to cook the chicken through, but just until golden. Transfer chicken to a 9×13 baking dish and continue dipping and sautéing remaining chicken, adding more oil as necessary.
Cooking tip: if you add oil to the pot, let it heat up a little before you add more chicken.
6. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the sauce ingredients: 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 4 Tbsp ketchup, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp garlic salt.
7. Pour sauce over your sauteed chicken pieces and toss to coat. Bake uncovered at 325˚F for 1 hour, turning the chicken twice while baking to coat with sauce.
Serve warm or hot over steamy white rice, and crisp tender broccoli for a balanced meal.
My son spotted this photo as I was putting the post together and the first words out of his mouth, “Can you make that for me?” :). Mel, thank you so much for sharing this goodness! It’s music to my ears when my son makes requests like that.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs about 4 Medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 cup corn starch
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup extra light olive oil, canola or vegetable oil to saute, plus more as needed
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 4 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp garlic salt
Instructions
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken: Preheat oven to 325˚F.
- Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- Place 1 cup cornstarch into a gallon-sized ziploc bag, add chicken and toss to coat.
- Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large, heavy bottom pot (I used my French oven with nice tall walls to reduce splatterage on the stove).
- In a shallow dish, whisk together 3 eggs. Dip the cornstarch-dredged chicken pieces into the beaten egg, coating both sides then transfer chicken to the very hot oil.
- Cook chicken in hot oil about 30 seconds per side or until golden. Having very hot oil is key. You don't want to cook the chicken through, but just until golden. Transfer chicken to a 9x13 baking dish and continue dipping and sautéing remaining chicken, adding more oil as necessary. Cooking tip: if you add oil to the pot, let it heat up a little before you add more chicken.
- In a medium bowl, stir together sauce ingredients: 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 4 Tbsp ketchup, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp garlic salt.
- Pour sauce over your sautéed chicken pieces and toss to coat. Bake uncovered at 325˚F for 1 hour, turning the chicken twice while baking to coat with sauce. Serve warm or hot over steamy white rice, and crisp tender broccoli for a balanced meal.
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
Shown in this post: (nope, no one paid us to write this; just stuff we love):
*My favorite French oven – somehow food just tastes better when you use it 😉
*This covered 9×12 baking dish comes with a lid, reducing foil waste; and it’s perdy.
*My glass mixing bowls are so versatile; everything from this sauce to your morning cereal 😉
*These cooking utensils are next to my stove always in reach on their little caddy.
So I made this dish the other night and my entire family loved it! So I’m making it again for tomorrows suprise birthday party for our pastor at church:) one thing I did different was I used flour instead of corn starch 🙂
Thank you for the great review Julie and good to know that recipe works good with flour instead of corn starch :).
I made this last night.. me and my husband both had seconds.. It was very good definitely taste like sweet and sour chicken from take out but homemade is always better. Do you have any recipes coming with orzo in future?
Thank you for the great review Masha :). As far as orzo goes, we usually like to eat it plain with some butter but I will be on the look out for a good recipe.
Hallo Natasha, your sweet and sour chicken looks so delicious, thanks for the step by step instructions 🙂
Thank you so much Amallia 🙂
Sweet and sour chicken is my ultimate take out food pleasure.. I never have made it myself before though. You definitely have inspired me to make this dish!
It really is! I’m not promoting this as a health food, but homemade is always better than takeout :). It’s not quite as guilty 😉
I never realized how easy it is to make Asian chicken. I have all the ingredients in my fridge/ Pantry! Defiantly going to try this recipe soon
Let me know how it works out :). This is what I love about the recipe, it only takes few ingredients.
Definitely a must try for me! i was actually hoping you’d make something like this, and you did:)Thanks you so much for your recipes and ALL your handwork you put in for us:)
I appreciate your comment so much. Thanks Veronika 🙂
Thank you so so so much for sharing this recipe! When you posted it on Instagram, I absolutely drooled! I love Panda Express’s chicken but they’ve lost their quality in my opinion and homemade is just the best! Again, Thank You!!!!
You’ll definitely be impressed if you’re a panda fan 🙂 Enjoy!! 🙂
Awesome recipie:) I bet it’s alot healthier then Panda Express; tho I too like your son love that place!!
2 questions: where to get sesame seeds and when do I add them?
How did you cook your beautiful broccoli?? Color is still perfect and shape still looks firm!!
The sesame seeds came in a little jar in the spice section. It’s only for garnish; they aren’t necessary; they only look nice in the picture 🙂 I steam cook broccoli on the stove for about 10 minutes :). We steam until it’s crisp tender. My husband doesn’t like over-cooked broccoli.
My husband likes to eat fresh broccoli. Or just heat fresh broccoli with meat part of the meal in the microwave. Would you believe?
I love raw broccoli but just as a snack with ranch :). At least he loves the healthier way; raw is always better 🙂
so making this tomorrow for dinner!!!
Enjoy! 🙂
Do you use 2 or 3 eggs?
I used 3 eggs. Initially I used 2 (that’s why there are only two in the ingredients picture), but I used another egg because I ran out of egg mixture. 3 eggs is best 🙂
I am so excited because I currently have everything I need to make this chicken. Looks simple and amazing at the same time. Love!
Isn’t that the best when you already have what you need for a recipe? I love that!
This is absolutely delicious! I made it with chicken tenderloins and they were really juicy! Thank you for sharing this recipe:) We loved it.
Mmm I bet it would be awesome with tenderloins! Thanks for the tip!
So my kids are about to nap and I really want to make this. I have almost everything but the apple vinegar.. I have the regular vinegar. How vital is it to use the apple one instead of regular!?!?! Thanks beautiful!
I haven’t tested it with regular vinegar so I’m not sure. I would probably lean on the side of caution and use the apple vinegar; it’s not as potent as regular vinegar and the flavor will probably be better.
I love orange chicken, this looks really easy to make. Tonights dinner. Thanks Natasha!
Enjoy! I hope you and your family love it!
This looks so delicious- my husband will go crazy over this!
I hope you both love it! 🙂
Moms dish has this recipe. Its yummy
Oh how funny! Hers is similar but a little different. I think most sweet & sour chickens look similar, but this one is originally Mel’s recipe (see her link in the top paragraph). 🙂
Yummm!!
It sure is! 🙂
Yum! I am so making this. It seems very simple. 🙂
It really was very simple. The only tedious part was dipping and sautéing but even that goes quickly 🙂
Yum, yum, yum!!! I can see why this sweet and sour chicken is a winner!!
I love your recipe and have to try it! Keep up your hard work Natasha!:)
Thank you so much 🙂
Hi Natasha. The photos of your dishes are always so beautiful! There is no need for orange juice or orange rind in this recipe to make it orange chicken?
I haven’t tried adding those in, but this recipe is definitely not lacking any flavor if prepared as is. It totally tastes like orange chicken except no orange products involved 🙂