General Tso's Chicken
One of my favorite items to order from an Asian restaurant is General Tso's Chicken. If you've never had it, the chicken pieces are battered and fried, then covered in a sauce that is both sweet and spicy. You'll probably find that most recipes call for thigh meat, but I personally use chicken breast - really, it's your call. Either way, make sure the chicken is boneless, and any skin or fat has been trimmed off.
I've found this dish is generally served with broccoli, though I made it with a mix of vegetables as you can see in the image above. Regardless of the vegetable you choose, served it over a bed of rice. You can find the full recipe after the jump.
General Tso's Chicken
1 lb. boneless chicken thighs or breast meat, fat and skin removed
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
Oil for frying (peanut works best, but corn or canola can also be used)
In a large bowl, thoroughly blend the cornstarch and the eggs. Add chicken cubes and mix well. In either a deep-fryer or a large pot, heat oil to 350 degrees and fry the chicken pieces in small batches until golden and fully cooked throughout. Set aside.
Sauce
In a saucepan, mix the following ingredients:
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar (I prefer brown, but white is fine too)
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp crushed red chili pepper
* Note: the heat from the chili peppers comes out as the mixture cooks. You can use more or less depending on your personal taste.
Cook on medium heat until mixture begins to thicken, then add chicken pieces. I like to finish it off on a baking sheet in the oven for five minutes so it caramelizes a bit, but you can serve it at this point if you want to skip that step.
Serve with rice and steamed or stir-fried vegetables of your choice.
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Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. Yeah, my favorite and I now live in a country with horrible chinese/asian food restaurants. Now I just need a recipe for Orange Beef for my dh and I'm set!
Posted at 2:51AM on Feb 18th 2007 by Cathy
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1. I love ordering this too, in fact I got some last week. I wish I had read this first, as I would have liked to have tried making it, especially with the breast meat. I prefer white meat so I'm sure that would make it that much better. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Posted at 1:49AM on Feb 18th 2007 by Tony Dion