General Tso's Chicken Recipe
The General Tso's Chicken Recipe is a Chinese-American dish that is made from chicken thighs that are breaded with cornflour and deep-fried before being coated in a spicy and sweet sauce. It was first made by a Chinese chef known as Peng Chang-kuei. General Tso's chicken is known by various names such General Tao’s chicken, House Chicken, General Chow's chicken, Governor Tso's chicken, General Joe's Chicken, General Cho's chicken, General Gao's chicken, General Gau's chicken, General Tong's chicken, T.S.O. Chicken, General's Chicken, General Ching's chicken, General Tang's chicken, or General Jong's Chicken. Other names for this Chinese recipe include General Mao's chicken, General Tsao's chicken, General T's Chicken, General Chai's chicken, or House Chicken.
Servings 4 People
Calories 465kcal
Ingredients
- 600 grams boneless chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
- 1½ tbsp Rice-wine vinegar
- 4 tbsp Soy sauce (Low sodium)
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- ¼ cup Chicken broth (low sodium) for a healthy General Tso's Chicken.
- ¼ tsp Black pepper powder
- 2 whole Eggs
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 cups Sesame oil (or Olive Oil) - for deep frying the chicken pieces.
- ½ cup Cornflour (Cornstarch)
- 1 tbsp Ginger (grated)
- 5 whole Chili peppers (dried)
- 1½ tsp Garlic cloves (minced)
Instructions
- First, season the cornstarch in a bowl with 1/4 tsp of black pepper and 1/4 tsp of salt. Stir to combine with a hand whisk or a fork and set aside.
- Next, break two eggs into a bowl and season the egg with a pinch of salt and black pepper.
- Now, whisk the egg with a fork until it is light and then bring the chicken pieces into the egg wash and stir to coat the meat with the chicken.
- Transfer the chicken pieces into the bowl containing the cornstarch and coat the chicken with the corn flour mixture.
- Remove the chicken cubes when coated with flour and place them on a plate and keep them aside.
- In a pan containing your frying oil - you can use olive oil or sesame oil. Add 2 cups of the frying oil (cooking oil or whatever oil you use for cooking or frying) to the pan. Allow the oil to heat up and then transfer the coated chicken cubes into the oil.
- Deep-fry the chicken pieces until they are golden brown in color.
- Drain off the oil from the deep-fried chicken pieces and set them aside.
How to Make General Tso's chicken sauce
- In a bowl, add the Hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp of cornflour, 2 tbsp of sugar, and low sodium soy sauce; also add the rice wine vinegar and low sodium chicken broth. Stir everything together using a hand whisk until all the ingredients have combined nicely.
- Place a pan on the heat and add 1 tbsp of sesame oil. To the pan, add the grated ginger and minced garlic and stir fry for a minute until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the dried red chili peppers
- Add the prepared General Tso chicken sauce; make sure the heat is on low and continuously stir the sauce until it thickens.
- Once the sauce is cooked, add the chicken pieces and coat them with the prepared sauce.
- You can garnish with some chopped spring onions and sesame seeds - a tablespoon each and enjoy your homemade General Tso's chicken recipe.
Video
Notes
There are many Asian recipes that may be similar to the General Tso chicken but there are some differences. The differences and similarities of similar recipes are discussed below.