Friday, June 19, 2009

General Tso's Chicken

We love Chinese food at our house. General Tso's chicken with its slightly sweet, slightly spicy, slightly tangy sauce is a favorite. This version, though a bit of work is fantastic!


General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients:

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks

Cornstarch Batter
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce*
1 cup cornstarch
water (as needed)

Sauce
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
5-7 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce*
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup cooking sherry or white cooking wine
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
2 Tablespoons red pepper flakes

4 green onions, chopped

Oil for frying

Directions:

Mix sauce ingredient together, cover and set inside fridge until ready to use.
Beat the egg well, add the soy sauce and cornstarch, mix well. If it too solid add a tablespoon of water at a time until the batter is thick and half-way between a solid and a liquid. (If you ever made cornstarch oobleck as a child this is the consistancy you need). This mixture seems strange, but trust me it will work.
Heat oil to 350 degrees.
Add some of the chicken to the batter and stir the pieces into the batter.
Using a fork lift ONE piece at a time out of the batter and allow the excess to drip off.
Place chicken into the hot oil one piece at a time and allow to cook until crispy.
Remove from oil and drain on paper towel, continue until all the chicken is cooked.
In a separate skillet or large wok heat a small amount of oil and add the green onion, fry a minute or two.
Mix the sauce ingredients until smooth add to the hot pan and cook until thick, stirring constantly.
Sauce should be the consistancy you would get if you ordered this in a restauant, if it gets too thick add a bit of water.
Add chicken to sauce and stir until all chicken is coated and the sauce is thick and bubbly.
Serve over hot rice.

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Tips and Hints
  • Be sure the chicken in coooked through when cooking in the oil.

  • If you like this less spicy add fewer pepper flakes, more spicy add a bit more.

  • I used a deep fryer (similar to a fry daddy) to cook the chicken with excellent results

  • As the sauce cools it tends to gel and is not as good rewarmed. Not to worry though, as tasty as this is, you probably won't have leftovers.
  • *LaChoy is a gluten free soy sauce.  You can find other gluten free soys if you look.  Tamari is also a great substitute to make this gluten free. 

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