General Tso Chicken or General Tso’s Chicken is one of the most famous Chinese dishes in American. I have heard a saying that people in China have never heard of General Tso’s Chicken, which is not true.
The dish is named after General Tso, who was a famous general in human province. But General Tso’s chicken has nothing to do with the general.
General Tso’s chicken is created by a famous cook Changgui Peng who is expert in Hunan Cuisine.
In 1970’s, the Taiwan’s premier Jiang Jingguo visited the restaurant where cook Peng worked in the middle night after duty. Only chicken thighs were left with no other ingredients available. So cook Peng cut the bones out and meat into small cubes, fried firstly and then stir-fried with soy sauce, vinegar, chopped garlic and ginger. And then add water starch and ladled with sesame oil. The premier loved the dish and asked for the name, cook Peng responded quickly with a name after General Tso. From that time, this General Tso’s Chicken has been the featured dish of that restaurant.
Three years later, cook Peng went to American and opened a restaurant. This General Tso’s chicken was loved by Kissinger and further featured by ABC, which makes General Tso’s Chicken as one of the most famous Chinese-American dish.
This cooking process is quite common in Hunan cuisine. For the success of making your own
General Tso’s chicken, the most important step is the marinating process. As told above, chicken thighs are better than boneless chicken breast. Chinese people do not like to eat chicken breast very much compared with chicken wings and thighs. Even with
Kung Pao Chicken, Chinese versions are almost made with chicken thighs.
Cut the bones out and the meat of chicken thighs into small cubes around 2 cm long. And then marinade with salt, cooking wine and egg whites. Put aside for around 10 minutes.
Then add 1 tablespoon of starch and coat the chicken cubes evenly just before the frying process. Grasp with hand until the chicken cubes are evenly coated.
And then heat up the oil in wok. And stir-fry the chicken cubes until golden brown. And then return the fired chicken cubes back to deep fry again for a short time.
In a small bowl, add light soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, chili oil and salt to make the stir-frying sauce.
In another bowl, add 2 teaspoons of corn starch and 2 teaspoons of chicken stock or water. The ratio should around 1:1. You can also mix the two bowls together to simplify the process.
Leave around 1 teaspoon of cooking oil in wok, add chili pepper until the color turns darker. Return fire chicken cubes in with chopped ginger and garlic. After 30 seconds, add stir fry sauce in to mix evenly. Pour water starch and sesame oil in the last step. Mix thoroughly and move out quickly.
One of the most famous Chinese-American Chicken dish named after General Tso.
Ingredients
- 4~5 boneless chicken thighs (around 1 pound; cut into 2 cm cubes)
- 6 dried chili pepper (cut into small section)
- 1 inch root ginger, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch for coating
- 3 cups of cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
Marinade sauce:
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cooking wine
Stir fry sauce:
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Water Starch:
- 2 teaspoons water or chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Cut the bones out and the meat of chicken thighs into small cubes around 2 cm long. And then marinade with soy sauce, cooking wine and egg whites. Put aside for around 10 minutes.
- Then add 1 tablespoon of starch and coat the chicken cubes just before the frying process.
- And then heat up the oil in wok. And deep-fry the chicken cubes until golden brown. And then re-fry the cubes again for around 2 minutes. And leave around 1 teaspoon oil in wok and pour the extra oil out.
- In a small bowl, add light soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, chili oil and salt to make the stir-frying sauce.
- In another bowl, add 2 teaspoons of corn starch and 2 teaspoons of chicken stock or water. The ratio should around 1:1.
- Add chili pepper in wok, stir fry until the color turns darker use middle fire. Return fire chicken cubes in with chopped ginger and garlic with high fire. After 30 seconds, add stir fry sauce in and mix evenly.
- Pour water starch and sesame oil in the last step. Mix thoroughly and move out quickly.
- Garnish some sesame seeds if you like.
Notes
To simplify the steps, you can mix the water starch and stir-fry sauce together but I recommend adding the starch at the very last step. The stir-frying process should be quick after returning fried chicken so remember to turn up the fire; otherwise, the crispy taste might be spoil.
