General Tso's Chicken

5 from 8 votes

The most requested Chinese take out menu option in America is General Tso's chicken. An easy meal to make, it's a recipe with lightly coated chicken in a thick, sweet sauce.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: chicken dinner, chinese cuisine, easy dinner recipe, fried chicken, stiry fry

Servings:

Calories: 561kcal

Author: Julie Clark

Ingredients

For the chicken:

2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless chicken thighs trimmed and cut in bite size pieces
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
oil for frying sesame oil or vegetable oil

For the sauce:

¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar*
3/4 cup water**
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more for extra spice)
½ teaspoon fresh ginger paste
¼ teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

Place the chicken pieces in a medium bowl. 2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
Mix the cornstarch, salt, ginger, garlic powder and pepper in a small bowl. Then add this to the chicken and mix well to combine, completely covering the chicken. Allow the chicken to rest for at least 5 minutes while the oil heats. 3/4 cup cornstarch, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Add a 1/2 inch of oil to a frying pan and warm it over medium high heat. oil for frying
When the oil is hot, in 2 batches, shake the excess flour off of the chicken and fry chicken until the outside is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through (165ºF). Remove the chicken from the frying pan and place on a wire rack (with paper towels underneath) so that it stays crisp. Repeat with the second batch of chicken.
Wipe out the pan you fried the chicken in and allow it to cool off slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients. ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar*, 3/4 cup water**, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, "2" uid="15"], 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon fresh ginger paste, ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Pour the sauce into the frying pan and place over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Watch it closely so it doesn't burn. Once it starts to thicken it will thicken quickly.
Add in the chicken. Toss to coat and heat through. Serve over rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.

Notes

*There are different strengths of vinegar. The bottle should read diluted to 4.1% acidity.

**You can also use chicken broth in place of water, but if you do, I recommend unsalted chicken broth.

Use boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs in this recipe.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.

The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 6, with 1 serving being 1/6 of the recipe. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**

Nutrition