General Tso's Chicken Recipe

General Tso's Chicken

Adapted from http://prettygirlfood.com/post/42241481089/general-tsos-chicken-ingredients-serves-4-1-4

General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients for 4:
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, but into bite-sized chunks
  • 2 tablespoons dry white sherry
  • Peanut oil, for frying
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 6-8 “Japanese” dried red whole chilis (I used samba oelek)
  • 3 scallions, white and green parts, cut into half inch chunks

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine chicken stock, soy sauce, vinegar, hoisin, Sriracha, sesame oil, sugar, and 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch. Stir until smooth.

In another bowl, toss chicken chunks with sherry and a pinch of salt, and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

When ready to cook, toss chicken to coat evenly with remaining 1/3 cup of cornstarch. Chicken should have a dry coating of cornstarch; add a little more if coating seems moist. In a large skillet over medium heat, bring peanut oil to 325 degrees. Add chicken and cook, stirring often, until chicken is brown on all sides, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.

Pour most of the oil out of the skillet, until only a thin coating remains in the pan. Add garlic and ginger to pan and stir until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add whole chilies, chicken pieces, and scallion pieces, and toss to combine. Add sauce and simmer, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, becomes shiny, and evenly coats chicken. Top with more sliced scallions and serve immediately with steamed rice.

Just a couple of notes on what I did differently. Instead of using dried red chilis for the spice, I used samba oelek. Also, I didn't have any scallions at the time, so none were included.

For another chicken favorite, see recipe for quinoa chicken parmesan.