Homemade General Tso’s Chicken

My best friend and I used to constantly go to eat out after school at this little Chinese buffet down the street from our high school. Even after we graduated and went to college, we still went out once a week to catch up…at first. Then we realized how much college was costing us…and how small our budgets were.

Not wanting to give up on tradition, we decided to stay in and make our favorites at home. And we didn’t have to put real pants on to leave the house? Sold. Easiest decision of my life. A really delicious one too! This recipe for Homemade General Tso’s Chicken tastes just like our favorite takeout but you can make it for a fraction of the cost and you get to control the ingredients.

I know just glancing at the recipe, it seems like A LOT of ingredients, and the thought of bringing the whole list out of the pantry seems like a big task, but it actually goes by quickly. If you break the process up into sections (marinade, dry, sauce) and clean up after each one, the process is painless and quick I promise.

It’s no secret that not the best ingredients go into the food at most chinese restaurants. So picking your own makes it so much better for you and tastier!

The marinade is very simple. Just an egg, some soy sauce, a little cornstarch, and baking soda. Smush it around with your hand from the outside of the bag, add the chicken, and smush around a little more until the chicken is all coated.

The dry mix is EVEN simpler. Flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder go into a bowl, stir it up with a for and you’re good to go!

Start the sauce while the chicken is marinating by heating up the minced garlic, scallion bottoms, grated ginger, and red pepper flakes in two tablespoons of oil for about 30 seconds.

In the 30-40 seconds you let the aromatics heat up, mix together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chicken broth, sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Then add it to the pan and whisk continuously until it starts to thicken up. Remove the pan from heat, and pour the sauce into a medium sized bowl. Don’t put the pan in the sink! You are about to reuse it!

Start heating up about 2 inches of oil in the same pan you just used to make the sauce over a medium heat. Take the chicken out of the fridge and start coating it with the dry mixture. I like to used one hand to retrieve the chicken from the bag and the other to coat it in the dry mixture. This way I don’t und up with and inch of dough around my fingers from redipping so many times (I hate that)!

Add the coated chicken to the pan, and cook for about a minute and a half to two minutes (depending on how big you cut your chicken) on each side.Be careful not to overcrowd the pan or it will mess with the cooking times.

Drain your chicken on a paper towel before adding to the bowl of sauce and stirring to coat. Serve with rice.

General Tso’s Chicken Ingredients

Marinade

1 egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 pound chicken thighs, cut in equal bite sized pieces

Dry Mix

½ cup AP flour
½ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Sauce

2 tbs. Soy sauce
2 tbs. Rice wine vinegar
3 tbs. Chicken broth
4 tbs. Sugar
1 tsp. Sesame oil
1 tbs. Cornstarch
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced scallion bottoms
1-2 teaspoons grated ginger
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

General Tso’s Chicken Instructions

For the Marinade

In a ziplock bag (or bowl with lid), combine all marinade ingredients and work them around the bag by squeezing with your hands from the outside (or using a mixing spoon for the bowl method). Place mixture in fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Dry Mix

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Sauce

Start the sauce while the chicken is marinating by heating up the minced garlic, scallion bottoms, grated ginger, and red pepper flakes in about two tablespoons of oil for about 30 seconds. mix together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chicken broth, sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Then add it to the pan and whisk continuously until it starts to thicken up. Remove the pan from heat, and pour the sauce into a medium sized bowl. Don’t wipe the pan out yet.

Start heating up about 2 inches of oil in the same pan you just used to make the sauce over a medium heat. Take the chicken out of the fridge and start coating it with the dry mixture. Keep coating the chicken until it’s all ready for frying. Add the coated chicken to the pan, and cook for about a minute and a half to two minutes on each side. Drain on a paper towel before adding to the bowl of sauce. Stir to coat, and serve with rice.