General Tso’s Chicken

My son has been asking me to cook General Tso’s chicken for a long time now. At first, I was not interested because of the presence of dried chilies in the recipe.  I am not a fan of spicy food, but then I realized that I am the cook so I can control how much spice to put into the dish. So after searching online, I found a recipe that has ingredients that are easy to find and procedure that is easy to follow.  After adapting the recipe to my family’s taste, I went to buy the ingredients and started on the task of making General Tso’s Chicken. For this dish, I used chicken thigh because it is more tender and juicy compare to the chicken breast. After marinating the chicken pieces in egg whites, soy sauce and dry sherry, I opted to fry it first before stir-frying with the aromatics and sauce.  I only used 2 dried chilies and the result was delicious chicken nuggets that was not too spicy 🙂

General Tso’s Chicken

Liza A

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Servings 2 -4 servings

Ingredients

  

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• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 small dried chilies or less depending on your personal preference
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 2 inch green onions cut into 1- lengths
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 2 egg whites

Sauce:

• ¼ cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

 

• Combine broth, rice vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
• Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Pour mixture over chicken pieces and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Roll each chicken piece in cornstarch and place in a single layer on a plate ready to be fried. Fry in hot oil until golden (around 5 minutes). Drain and set aside.
• Place a wok or skillet over medium high heat. Add vegetable oil and sesame oil, swirling to coat sides. Add the chilies, garlic, ginger and green onions; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the sauce and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add cornstarch solution and cook, stirring until sauce thickens.
• Return the chicken to the wok and stir until chicken pieces has been coated with sauce. Serve with steamed rice.
• Enjoy!

Notes

Recipe adapted from Martin Yan

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