I’m not gonna lie: until a couple of years ago, I’ve never ordered or eaten General Tso’s Chicken in my life. I don’t know why it didn’t intrigue me. Perhaps, I thought that it’s another American-Chinese concoction with some salty sweet component in it, of which I didn’t think would taste very good.
But once again, Epicurious drew me in. This time, with their version of General Tso’s Chicken. I followed the recipe, ate it and fell in love. Grant it, I still haven’t ordered or eaten General Tso’s Chicken at a restaurant, so I can’t compare my dish to anything else. But this is so delicious that I have no need to eat it anywhere but at home. And it’s so simple to put together!
Getting the chicken coated to my liking, though, was a little bit tricky. Initially, I tried various amounts of cornstarch and cooking oil, to no avail. But shout-out to my cousin who suggested using Taiwanese sweet potato starch (地瓜粉), the coating that seems to be prevalent on Taiwanese popcorn chicken. It surely helps give the chicken the light crispy coating I want while the meat remains moist on the inside.
Also, I chose to use a large Ziplock bag to do the whole battering process. I find the traditional way of battering where you’d dip the chicken into the egg and then into the starch too messy and tedious. So instead, in my method, the chicken gets coated with the starch in a bag and you get the joy of squishing the chicken around without getting your hands messy.
If you like this General Tso’s Chicken recipe, try this:
Orange Chicken
Teriyaki Chicken
General Tso’s Chicken (左宗棠雞)
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 3 served with sides 1x
- Category: Mains
- Method: Pan Fry
- Cuisine: American Chinese
Description
This is so delicious that I have no need to eat it anywhere but at home. And it’s so simple to put together!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, room temperature, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup of Taiwanese sweet potato starch
- Neutral-flavored cooking oil
- A handful of small, dried whole red chilies
- 3 thick stalks of green onion, white ends only, sliced in half the long way, or 6 thin green onions, white ends only
SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
- 1 large clove of garlic, crushed through a garlic press
- 1 tablespoon of unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of Sriracha
- 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
- 1.5-inch knob of ginger, grated
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken with salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Create the sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients in another large bowl.
- Coat the chicken. Add the egg onto the chicken and coat all of the pieces. Transfer the chicken into a large Ziplock bag. Add the sweet potato starch into the bag, seal it, and massage the chicken to coat the pieces evenly in the starch.
- Cook the chicken. Preheat a thick-bottomed pan over high heat.‡ Add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil into the pan. Gently transfer the chicken pieces from the Ziplock bag into the pan◊ (warning: oil splattering very likely). The chicken pieces are probably sticking to each other. Separate them (I like using tongs with my left hand and chopsticks with my right) and turn them every minute for 5 minutes to prevent burning. Add the chilies. Make sure they make contact with the bottom of the pan so they can toast and puff up, about 1 minute.
- Put it all together. Give your sauce a mix before adding it into the pan. Quickly toss the chicken in the sauce as the sauce reduces, 20 to 30 seconds. Turn off the heat. Add the green onions and toss one last time. Serve immediately, it’s great with rice and veggies!
Notes
‡ If you are not using a thick-bottomed pan, cook on medium-high heat for a minute or two longer.
◊Don’t crowd the chicken in the pan. Cook a second batch if necessary.
