This post General Tso’s Chicken was updated in 2022.
General Tso’s Chicken is that perfect combination of sweet, savoury, spicy and tangy with crispy Chinese chicken bites. It’s a Chinese takeout favourite that just pushes all the right buttons!
General Tso’s Chicken
This dish is popular in China and can be found in Australian suburbs. Peking-Style Chicken or sometimes something mysteriously titled House Special Crispy Chicken. A House Special is something I cannot resist!
It is believed to have originated in China’s Hunan Province. The name of the weapon is General Tso, a respected Chinese military leader.
While the accuracy of either of these statements is questionable – and in fact, rumour has it that it was brought into the US by Taiwanese Chefs (!) – what we do know is that this is one of the most popular Chinese dishes in America and it’s not hard to understand why.
Crispy chicken. Sticky, spicy, savoury sauce. All the great stuff we love!
What goes in General Tso’s Chicken
There’s 3 parts to making General Tso’s Chicken:
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Sauce/Marinade – one mixture does double duty to marinate the chicken AND to make the sticky sauce that coats the chicken;
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Crispy Chicken – tossed in cornflour/cornstarch then fried in as little or as much oil as you want. No, you don’t need to DeepFor this dish, fry the following:
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Stir Fry – it’s not really a stir fry dish, but we do sauté garlic and ginger at the end before making the sticky sauce to toss the chicken in.
1. Sauces / Marinades
Here’s what you need for the Sauce / Marinade:
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Chilli – the spiciness in the sauce. Sambal Oelak, which is a kind of chilli paste found in everyday supermarkets across Australia, works well for me. But you are free to use any brand that suits your taste (preferably Asian).);
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Soy sauce – All purpose or light, just not dark. It will cause sauce to be too dark and have too strong flavour. You can find more information on the different soy sauces here and when you should use them.
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Rice vinegar – for the signature touch of tang in General Tso’s Chicken. It has a distinct flavour different to Western vinegars (it’s made from rice – did the name give it away? 😂It is also less acidic. Best subWhite wine vinegar
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Brown Sugar – for the sweet in the sauce with a slight caramel note. Not loads – just 3 tablespoons. You can use this recipe in many other ways. WayYou don’t need too much. This is not a dessert, it’s a meal!
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Hoisin sauce – The secret ingredient! This recipe is made even more delicious with an extra flavor. OkayTo yummo!
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Sesame oil – for a wonderful hint of sesame flavour;
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Chicken stock – to give the sauce depth of flavour without using Chinese Cooking Wine (Shaoxing Wine) and to make enough sauce to coat all the chicken; and
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Cornflour/cornstarch – to thicken the sauce as well as make it nicely shiny and clear (whereas wheat flour makes sauces more opaque, like with Gravy).
2. The Chicken
You will need to prepare the chicken. two tablespoons of the SauceYou can use the ingredients above to marinate, or you can add ginger and garlic for flavor.
The chicken is not coated in a batter, but is instead tossed with cornflour/cornstarch for crispy fried chicken. It’s quite similar to the way crispy Sweet and Sour Pork is made – but simpler because chicken pieces are tender and easier to cook than pork.
Best chicken – boneless skinless thighs, because they stay nice and juicy even if you overcook them a bit (which is easy to do if you’re not an experienced fryer). See the recipe notes for instructions on how to tenderize chicken breasts or tenderloins before you cook it with a little baking soda/bicarb. This method provides some protection against overcooking breasts, which are a common problem in recipes such as this.
3. Making the Sauce
And here’s what you need to cook the Sauce – ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes (chilli flakes). These are sautéed until golden before adding the Sauce.
How to make it happen
Here’s how to make it:
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Sauce/Marinade – Mix the Sauce/Marinade first. This can be done in two steps. Mix all ingredients together. Other than the sugar, chicken stock/broth and the cornflour/cornstarch, and use some of this initial mix to marinate the chicken (in Step 2 below). THEN mix in the sugar, stock and cornflour to the remainder to create the dish’s final Sauce – these are Sauce-specific ingredients we don’t want in the chicken marinade;
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Marinate Chicken –To marinate the chicken, add 2 tablespoons to the original Sauce mix. It’s really nice to add fresh ginger and garlic into the marinade to really get those flavours into the chicken;
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Grill chicken in cornflour – just add it into the bowl and mix, making sure the pieces are separate so they are fully coated;
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Excessive behavior should be rescinded cornflour using whatever method works for you – I use a colander these days. Not all the cornflour falls through the colander holes and that’s ok. It’s still a way to get rid of most of the excess cornflour and to settle some at the base. We don’t want a thick layer of cornflour on the chicken because it can make it taste powdery and also you end up with loads of cornflour in the oil which burns unless you scoop it out;
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Cook chicken using preferred amount of oil – You can shallow fry the chicken as I do, which is when the oil is halfway up the chicken and the chicken sits on the bottom of the pan. Or you can deep fry the chicken when enough oil is available to allow it to float in the oil. You can even cook it with just a thin layer of oil in the pan but you’ll need to rotate each piece of chicken 4 to 6 times to get all sides crispy – which is a pain!
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Put down paper towelsRemove excess oil.
It’s time to make it delicious!
Now it’s time to prepare the sauce. This takes literally 3 minutes.
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Sauté garlic, ginger and chilli flakes until garlic is golden and it smells amazing, then pour the sauce in;
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Allow the sauce to simmer for 2 minutes, until thick enough that you can trace a line across it.
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Add chicken
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Quickly toss the chicken to coat it and then serve! The chicken will stay crispier if it is served quickly.
General Tso’s CRISPY FACTOR
This method is used to cook chicken. Cornflour coated chicken will not be as crisp as chicken cooked using this method (ie.).
But if you really want super-crispiness, just use the batter method in Honey Chicken and the sauce from General Tso’s Chicken!
What to serve with General Tso’s Chicken
Serve the dish with rice of your choice and greens. For me, Ginger Smashed Cucumber Salad is just the sort of refreshing side I’d serve for a dish like this. Any fresh salad, leafy greens, or steam greens can be substituted for my Asian Sesame Dressing.
Add extra dishes to make it a bigger event.
Let me know when you’re planning that banquet and I’ll be there in a flash! 😂 – Nagi x
You can see how it is done.
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General Tso’s Chicken
Ingredients
Sauce/Chicken Marinade:
- 3 tbsp soy sauce light or all-purpose (NOT dark soy, Note 1)
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar (Sub-white wine vinegar).
- 2 tsp chilli paste Any (Sambal Olak) is great.
- 1 tsp sesame oil Toast preferably (Note 6).
- 3 tbsp Brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 3/4 Cup chicken stock/broth Low sodium
Chicken:
- 600g/1.4 lb Chicken thighs Cut into 2.5cm/1″ pieces (breast/tenderloin – See Note 2)
- 1 tsp ginger Finely grated
- 1 tsp garlic Finely grated
- 1 Cup cornflour/cornstarch (Note 5)
- 1 to 4 cups Oil, for frying (peanuts, vegetables or canola; See Note 4)
Stir Fry Sauce:
- 2 tbsp Oil (peanuts, vegetables or canola
- 2 tsp ginger Finely chopped (Note 3-)
- 2 Cloves Garlic , finely chopped. (Note 3)
- 1/2 Capsule Red chilli flakes (red pepper flakes).
Garnishes (at minimum 1 recommended)
- Finely sliced green onions
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
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Sauce-Marinade: Mix the soy oil, vinegar and chilli with the hoisin, vinegar and vinegar.
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Marinate the chickenMix 2 tablespoons Sauce-Marinade with the chicken. Mix ginger and garlic together with chicken. Marinate for 30 minutes.
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Dust chicken Cornflour can be added to chicken. Mix well and turn off the heat.
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Get rid of excessTo remove excess cornflour, place it in a colander. Or grab a few handfuls and shake until the cornflour is gone from your fingers.
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Finish SauceAdd sugar and cornflour to the Sauce-Marinade that you have left over from Step 1. Mix well, then add the chicken stock.
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Heat oil Heat 2 cm / 4/5″ oil in a deep skillet (or large pot – whatever you’re comfortable with) to 200°C/390°F. To use less, see Note 4.
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Fry: Turn the chicken halfway through cooking, and cook for 3 minutes. Place on a paper towel-lined plate.
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New / clean skillet: Use oil to clean skillet. Use a larger skillet.
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Stir Fry Sauce: Over medium heat, heat oil in large skillet. Cook the garlic, ginger, and chilli flakes for 30 seconds. Stir in Sauce. Allow sauce to simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Toss! Toss in chicken. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, garnish with herbs and serve with your favorite rice.
Recipe Notes
2. ChickenBecause it is juicy inside, thigh is preferred. Breast can be overcooked and dried out easily. It is also prone to drying out when deep frying as many people aren’t very experienced in deep or semi-deep cooking.
BREAST & TenderloinIf you want to use breast meat, then tenderize the meat slightly to allow you to cook it without drying out. Marinate the chicken for up to an hour or longer by adding 1/4 tsp bicarb (bicarb) to the marinade Sauce. This is a less complicated way of tenderising chicken the Chinese Restaurant Way. You can use less bicarb and marinate for longer to ensure that it doesn’t need to be rinsed off.
3. Ginger and garlicFor the chicken marinade, you can use a microplane (or other fine grater). You must chop your ingredients finely with a knife before stirring fry. Use a microplane or garlic press to make the ginger and garlic paste-like. This will cause it to burn quickly when stir-fried.
4. How much oil should you useIt’s best to add enough oil to cover the chicken about halfway. You can shallow fry. You can also use more oil, so that the chicken is bobbling in the oil. This will result in a crispier coating (ie. Deep-frying.
Minimal oil– You don’t have to fry the chicken, but you want to use as much oil as possible. Instead, just oil the pan on medium heat and drizzle some oil on the base. The chicken should be cooked for about 3-4 minutes. Turn the chicken over to get as crispy as possible (this can be tedious so I shallow fry!).
5. Cornflour Coating Although 600g/1.2 lb chicken weighs in at 1 cup, I find it hard to believe that this amount is even necessary. To ensure that the chicken is properly coated, I use the mixing and shaking off method. The cornflour clumping in the chicken juices/marinade can cause a significant loss. If you stir the chicken well and fast, you could get away with 1/4 cup. If you dip each chicken piece in cornflour and then shake off any excess, you can get away with 1/2 cup.
6. Sesame oilUntoasted sesame oils are more flavorful than untoasted, which is yellow. Australian default sesame oil is toasted. It is more difficult to find untoasted.
7. Storing and reheatingKeep in the fridge for up to five days. The chicken can be reheated, just add a little water to thin the sauce. However, it won’t be crispy. Everyone who has reheated leftovers loved them!
9. NutritionEach serving is for one, except rice. All sauces must be consumed.
Nutrition Information:
Dozer Life
He couldn’t believe his eyes when he waddled into the kitchen to find a giant bag of dog food open on the floor…….!!
For those of you who know that I usually feed Dozer a raw food diet – these dog biscuits are special gastrointestinal friendly biscuits after this tummy problems a month or so ago. We are slowly reintroducing him to his regular diet.
