Sweet and Sour Chicken

In my family we celebrate birthdays like they’re going out of style. The family takes great pride in making special foods for the “Birthday Boy” or the “Birthday Girl” and planning the perfect day to celebrate.

This past weekend my uncle celebrated his birthday. His 55^th birthday! My oh my where has the time gone? Well, back to the party- he requested that we (my grandma and me) make his favorite Chinese dish; sweet and sour chicken with fried rice and egg rolls. Yeah..

When my grandma came over we were in the kitchen in no time. She started on the egg rolls (family recipe i'll share in another blog post) and I got to town on the chicken. 

I don't know what it is about vinegar but when it is cooking, I can hardly breath. My eyes start watering and I can't see. It's one of those smells that you hate but like? Is it just me? I'm sure..(read: tangent) I say this because with the chicken, you put vinegar in the sauce and when I take my chicken out of the oven to toss, I start yelling "whooooo!!!" because of the overwhelming eyes scorching/sinus clearing. It gets annoying. 

This was such a super simple meal to make but wow, did it deliver on flavor! I found the recipes on Life as a Lofthouse and I am sure many of you have seen this recipes plastered all over Pinterest. 

The chicken cooks for an hour in the oven but amazingly doesn't dry out because it's cooking in the delicious sweet and sour sauce which keeps it moist and tender. And the fried rice is JUST like the rice you get in the cute little Chinese food containers that are delivered to your door. And who doesn't like that?! 

When it comes down to it, family is the best company to have sitting around the dinner table and celebrating your birthday. For my family it is just another excuse to be able to see each other and eat a good meal. 

PS. Take a look at my dog. Look at how long her tongue is! She gets excited when the family comes over. 

What is your favorite Chinese foods? What are the worst ones you've had?