Sweet and spicy flavors work perfectly together in General Tso’s Chicken. Many Chinese buffets and take-out joints provide it. If you like, you can try replacing the rice wine with gin.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 35 mins |
| Servings: | 3 |
| Yield: | 3 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 cups vegetable oil for frying
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 5 dried red pepper pods
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons rice wine
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup of cornstarch until no lumps remain, then mix in the chicken until evenly coated in batter.
- In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until the chicken turns golden brown and begins to float, about 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the dried peppers, and cook for about 30 seconds until the color brightens. Add the chicken, and cook for a few minutes until the chicken turns a deep, golden brown. Stir the vinegar, rice wine, sugar, soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch together in a small bowl. Pour into the wok, and boil until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy, about 2 minutes. Garnish with green onions to serve.
- The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of the batter ingredients. The actual amount of the batter consumed will vary. We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and the specific type of oil used.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 865 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 62 g |
| Cholesterol | 277 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 38 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 1208 mg |
| Sugars | 14 g |
| Fat | 53 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This was the first time I ever made General Tsao’s Chicken. My 27 year old son said it was better than what he’s had from Chinese takeout. I’m making it again, three weeks later!
This was amazing. My husband went back for seconds, which he never does! I’m in Australia, so I used rice wine vinegar and Mirin Seasoning for the vinegar and wine, and used low-sodium soy sauce. We don’t have red pepper pods here, so I added about a tsp of cayenne pepper to the sauce. Husband spiced it up even more with Sriracha, but it was perfect for me, I loved it!
Great! Family ate it up!
Would be very helpful to specify “dried red chili pepper pods” or “dried red cayenne pepper pods” or provide some good alternatives. Also cook time is longer than stated unless you dump the chicken pieces in together (would result in big blobs of stuck together chicken). I used red bell pepper with a dash of cayenne pepper for the right amount of heat. Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly. Definitely need to double or triple the sauce. Wife liked it, but I found it bland.
The chicken itself was amazing. Crisp, slightly crunchy and tender. Although, i wasn’t impressed with the sauce.. I did slightly alter the sauce recipe, sense I’m underage I didn’t use rice wine. I used apple juice instead for a alternative. I think maybe next time I’ll mix hot water with the cornstarch, or maybe not use as much cornstarch. I don’t know, BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE CHICKEN WAS AMAZING. WITH OR WITHOUT A SAUCE.
I didn’t have Wed chili pods, so I used crushed red pepper flakes, stir frying them like I would have with the pods. I found the recipe easy, fast, and very flavorful, and I was using left over chicken. I am planning to make it again this week using fresh chicken.
It was delicious. I had to quadruple the sauce recipe but I used more than a pound of chicken and I added broccoli and waterchestnuts. My hubby was a huge fan and I will definitely be making it again.
very good! I added some honey and extra soy sauce, as well as using red pepper flakes instead of the actual peppers. if doing this add the flakes to the sauce and not the hot pan to prevent burning
Not a bad recipe. But definitely doesn’t taste like General Tso from a Chinese restaurant.
My husband LOVED this! He loves anything with shrimp so this was a great week night meal. It’s all simple ingredients that you probably already have in your fridge. I will definitely be making this again.
Very good! I didn’t have rice wine so I substituted white wine vinegar. I doubled the sauce recipe and I would suggest every tripling it. I like my dishes a little more saucy and with the doubles recipe the chicken was barely glazed
The flavor of this dish was really good. Not extremely simple to prepare but worth it.
I didn’t have rice wine so I used cooking white wine. Next time, I’ll use the right ingredients and more chilies.
I have made this recipe two time and have been pleased each time. I has good flavor and not to complex ed. I am not one to follow instructions, I notice this recipe is forgiving when substituting ingredients for others I have instead.
I substituted the chili’s for tuong ot toi Vietnam chili garlic sauce. The garlic gave it the extra kick and it was just the right amount of heat. This was super easy to make. I didn’t have rice wine so I will be remaking to include this ingredient. I am serving it with broccoli because that is how my family likes it. Try making this one, guaranty favorite.??
I love General Tsos chicken and made this a couple of times. There are other General Tsos recipes here, but to me this is the easiest, with the least number of ingredients, and a faithful version of the original. I doubled the sauce. Used a dry sake for the rice wine and red pepper flakes for the heat since it’s difficult finding red chili peppers. Added diced carrots, chopped onions and broccoli crowns to the fryer before adding the chicken to finish up. Thanks, Joe!
I have made this dish several times and my husband raves over it every time! Some hints: I had a lot of coating left over the first time, so I cut that down to 1 jumbo egg and 3 T of cornstarch which is actually plenty to coat the chicken. I also double the sauce amount so there is a lot to coat the chicken pieces. I use mirin (rice wine), rice vinegar and soy sauce that I buy at a Korean market so they add authentic flavors.
Loved it. Didn’t have access to the red chillies, they are market specific here. I used 3 tsp red pepper flakes. Other than that, no substitutions in the directions. I made typical fried rice, served the chicken with broccoli. Chicken wasn’t as crunchy as I had hoped, it was before I mixed everything together, so I’m sure that was my fault, I will perfect this. Thanks Joe!
This is a great recipe! I added powdered garlic and powdered ginger for more zing. I also substituted cauliflower when I didn’t have chicken. Cauliflower substitution was wonderful!
Great flavor! I used two pretty good size chicken breast. (Probably 11/2-2 lbs) so I was a little short on the delicious sauce! I didn’t have thighs but the breast worked great! I also didn’t have any sake’ (rice wine). Don’t think you’d be able to tell unless you tried both, one right after the other. I wouldn’t hesitate to double sauce. It is really good!
Delicious and not too difficult. I didn’t have the dried peppers , so I added a teaspoon of Sriracha to the sauce. It made a nice substitution.