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General Tso's Chicken

General Tso's Chicken

Rika
A delicious homemade Chinese deep-fried chicken dish that tastes like (or even better than) the best Chinese restaurants or take-out.
5 from 6 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4
Calories 296 kcal

Equipment

  • Wok
  • tongs
  • Chopsticks

Ingredients
 

Chicken and Marinade Sauce:

  • 1¼ pounds chicken breast or chicken thighs, (cut into 1 inch pieces)
  • 2 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • ½ teaspoon white sugar
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 tsp Shao Xing Wine, (or use dry sherry or skip if you don't have any)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup corn starch

Sweet and Savory General Tso's Chicken sauce:

  • 2 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • ¾ tablespoon Chinese black vinegar, (or use Rice Vinegar + ½ teaspoon sugar or balsamic vinegar)
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 2 teaspoon Thai sweet chili sauce
  • 2 teaspoon sriracha sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce, (see notes)

For Stir Fry:

  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 5 thin slices of fresh ginger
  • 3 diced scallions, (white and light green part only for stir fry, green part for toppings)
  • 10 dried red chili peppers, (remove stem but keep them whole)
  • 1 tablespoon canola/vegetable/peanut oil

Optional:

  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions
 

Preparation:

  • Dried Red Chilies:
    Soak the dried red chilies in hot water for at least 15 minutes.
  • Sweet and Savory General Tso's Chicken sauce:
    In a medium mixing bowl, mix the "Sweet and Savory General Tso's Chicken sauce" ingredients. Set aside.
  • Chicken and Marinade Sauce:
    Place the chicken into a large mixing bowl. Add the marinade sauce ingredients: light soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, Shao Xing wine, salt, black pepper, and egg. Toss to coat. Set aside.

Cooking:

  • Sweet and Savory General Tso's Chicken sauce:
    In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stir in the "Sweet and Savory General Tso's Chicken sauce" mixture.  Cook the sauce until reduced by half and thickened. Set aside.
  • Deep Fry the Chicken:
    Add the corn starch into the chicken mixture. Stir to coat.
    Heat about 2 cups of oil in a large non-stick pan or wok over high heat. Dip a chopstick into the oil. If the oil starts steadily bubbling, then the oil is hot enough for frying. 
    Working in 3-4 batches, use chopsticks or tongs to drop the chicken cubes into the wok one by one. Turning once or twice, cook until they turn golden brown, begin to float and cooked through (about 4 minutes or longer for chicken thighs).
    Spread thick paper towels on a plate. Remove the cooked chicken cubes from the pan, and transfer to a plate.

Final Cooking:

  • Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large wok over high heat. Cook garlic, ginger, scallions, and whole chilies. Give them a quick stir for about 15 seconds. Do not burn.
    Add the "Sweet and Savory General Tso's Chicken sauce" into the wok. Bring the sauce to a vigorous boil then add the deep-fried chicken cubes. Stir to coat, by tossing the wok three to four times.
    Turn off the heat and transfer the chicken onto a plate and sprinkle with diced scallions, green part only, and sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy with rice.

Notes

  • Some suitable substitutes for Chinese black vinegar are rice wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. If you are going to use rice wine vinegar, you may need to add a bit more sugar (about ½ teaspoon of white sugar).
  • Chinese black vinegar, also known as Chinkiang vinegar is available at Asian grocers, or select Ralph's/Kroger stores.
  • Thai sweet chili sauce is available at Asian grocers, select Walmart/Target/Ralph's/Kroger/Sprout's stores.
  • Oyster sauce is available at Asian grocers, select Walmart/Target/Ralph's/Kroger/Sprout's stores.
  • Sriracha sauce is available at Asian grocers, select Walmart/Target/Ralph's/Kroger/Sprout's stores.
  • Dried chili peppers also known as Chile de árbol. You can find them at at Asian grocers, select Walmart/Ralph's/Kroger stores. Do not substitute dried chillies for fresh. If you can't find dried chili peppers, just skip them.
  • Feel free to add a small amount dried red chili flakes to add spiciness to the dish. 
  • Feel free to skip the dark soy sauce or replace with light soy sauce. It will give you same taste result to your dish but the color won't be the same.

Nutrition

Calories: 296kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 35gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 133mgSodium: 1618mgPotassium: 641mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 102IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 17mgIron: 1mg
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