General Tso Chicken
General Tso Chicken is a Hunan-inspired, American-Chinese restaurant favorite: crispy fried chicken thigh pieces tossed in a glossy, sweet-spicy-tangy sauce built on soy, vinegar, sugar, and dried chilies. It's bold, sticky, and best served immediately while the coating stays crunchy.
By YumYum Editorial · Chinese
Prep: 20 min · Cook: 25 min · Total: 45 min · Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 egg white
- 1/3 cup cornstarch, plus 2 tbsp for the sauce
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- to taste Neutral oil, for frying (about 2 cups)
- 4 dried red chilies, halved
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 3 scallions, sliced, whites and greens separated
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Whisk egg white with 1/3 cup cornstarch and flour to form a thick batter. Toss chicken pieces in the batter until well coated.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a wok or deep pan to 350°F. Fry chicken in batches until golden and crisp, 4-5 minutes per batch. Drain on a wire rack.
- Increase oil temperature to 375°F and fry the chicken again for 1-2 minutes per batch for extra crispiness (double-frying). Drain.
- In a small bowl, whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, hoisin, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tbsp cornstarch to make the sauce base.
- Heat 1 tbsp of the frying oil in a clean wok over medium-high heat. Add dried chilies and toast 30 seconds until fragrant but not burnt.
- Add garlic, ginger, and scallion whites; stir-fry 20 seconds.
- Pour in the sauce mixture and bring to a simmer, stirring until thickened and glossy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the fried chicken and toss quickly to coat evenly in the sauce without letting it sit and soften.
- Drizzle with sesame oil, garnish with scallion greens, and serve immediately over steamed rice.