General Tso’s Chicken is a famous Chinese- American dish that is made up of crispy fried popcorn chicken covered in a sweet and tangy sauce.

The very first time I heard the name General Tso’s Chicken, my brain immediately went blank. I was so used to eating the regular sweet and sour chicken or chicken in brown sauce. I was never really the type to try something new at the time, until I had it one Friday night for dinner and it easily became my favorite Chinese food.

I won’t bore you with a history session, but there are more than one stories as to who created the dish. One of the very interesting stories about this dish is that it was created by a Chef and not a General, haha.. But the said creator, Chef Peng Chang-kuei was actually named after a General, hence the name.

You can check out this well written blog post Who Was General Tso? | Mental Floss for more detailed stories about this dish.

A fun fact about this dish, is that it is very famous here in America but not really recognized as a staple Chinese dish in the mainland.

This General Tso’s Chicken recipe is a very easy one, so skip the take out and make this delicious dish at home using this recipe.

Ingredients

To Season Chicken

• 4 boneless chicken thighs (cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tbsp all purpose seasoning
• 1 tsp five spce seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic lovers seasoning
• pinch of salt, or as desired
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

For Batter

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp corn startch
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp black pepper
• pinch of salt, or as desired

General Tso’s Sauce

• 2 cloves of garlic, mined
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp rice vinegar, optional
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• cornstarch slurry (1 tsp cornstarch to 1 tbsp water), if needed to thicken sauce

Directions

1. Add cut chicken pieces to a large bowl, followed by all the ingredients needed to season chicken
2. Allow to marinate for as long as desired
3. Combine all the ingredients listed for the sauce, except minced garlic
4. Combine all the ingredients needed for flour mixture to another bowl, except the egg
5. Preheat 2 cups of oil in no-stick pan
6. Add slightly beaten egg to bowl with marinated chicken and mix well together
7. Toss chicken in batches with flour mixture, shaking off the excess flour and set aside until all the pieces are ready to be fried
8. When oil is hot and ready, add chicken pieces individually, and fry until golden brown
9. Set chicken to the side, leaving just a little oil in pan
10. Add minced garlic and sauté for 2 minutes
11. Add sauce and lower flame, bring to a simmer for 1 minute
12. Add cornstarch slurry while stirring to thicken sauce (if needed)
13. Add chicken and toss in sauce, ensuring that each piece is covered in sauce
14. Cook chicken in sauce for 2 minutes hen remove from heat
15. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve with preferred side

Tips for making the best General Tso’s Chicken

Season your chicken ahead of time– Seasoning your chicken ahead of time allows the seasonings to marinate absorb into your chicken, which makes it way more flavorful.

Use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast– Chicken thighs are more flavorful and tender, they also cook better than breast.

Try to cut all the chicken pieces around the same size– This ensures an even cook on all your meat.

Use low sodium soy sauce– Low sodium soy sauce is always best. It doesn’t interfere with the salt used when seasoning your food.

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