Our family loves take-out nights. Sure we order pizzas or grab drive thru burgers, but our absolute favorite is Chinese take-out! I honestly think my kids and husband could eat it every single day and never tire of it. Of course, eating out regularly is insanely expensive and you can easily make it yourself for a fraction of the price. I started making this recipe almost a decade ago, and it is requested not only by my kids, but also every time my mother comes to visit. It is a crowd pleaser every time!
First start your prep work on your chicken. You’ll need:
*4-5 chicken breasts (cubed)
*1C corn starch
*2-3 eggs
*1-2 TBSP oil
In a large frying pan, heat some of your oil over med high heat. While that’s heating up, set up your dredging station with your corn starch and eggs.
Working in batches, coat your chicken pieces in the corn starch.
After shaking off the excess, coat the chicken in the egg.
Then brown them on all sides in your pan. The insides will still be raw and that’s ok, these will finish cooking in the oven.
As you finish the chicken, transfer them to an oiled 9×13 baking dish. You can do this step in advance and then pop the container in the fridge until you’re ready to bake them, or you can move on to making your sauce.
For the sauce, you’ll need:
*4 TBSP ketchup
*1Tbsp soy sauce
*1/2 C vinegar
*1 tsp garlic salt (I was out, so I used garlic powder and a pinch of salt)
*3/4 C sugar
Just whisk it all together in a measuring cup.
Pour the mixture over your chicken, and stir to coat each piece. Then place in a preheated 325° oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
I know it can seem time consuming to stir every 15 minutes for an hour, but just remind yourself how much money your saving here! And the smell that starts to fill your kitchen will have you eagerly coming back for each stir.
During the last half hour of the chicken baking, I start working the fried rice. For this you’ll need:
*2C cooked rice
*2 eggs
*1 onion, diced
*half bag of frozen peas and carrots
*soy sauce, to taste
*oil, for cooking
Heat some oil in your large skillet, and add your diced onion. Cook them until soft and translucent.
Add your frozen peas and carrots. Stir and continue to cook until the veggies are soft. Don’t forget to stir your chicken!
Next you’ll add the cooked rice and stir to combine. Let this cook for a few minutes to heat the rice through.
Scoot your rice to one side of your pan, and give the other half a good spray with your oil. Crack your eggs directly into the pan, being careful to not get any egg shells in it. Scramble the eggs until cooked through, and then mix them into the rice mixture.
After you have everything mixed thoroughly, add your soy sauce. Now, my family likes a lot of soy sauce on their rice so I add a good 2 Tbsp to the pan. And even then, my husband will add more to his plate. Just remember you can always add more, but you can’t take it off once you’ve put it in.
And there you have it! A home cooked dinner, that was inexpensive and much better for you than any take out you could have ordered. Now enjoy the sweet silence as your family practically inhales this right before your eyes.
Murphy Party of 4 