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One of the best things of being married to Michael is that he is never ever at a loss for meal ideas. He’s also remarkably willing to talk about food with me. I read cookbooks like mad and he is always willing to talk about what looks or sounds good.
Because he’s so accomodating, I love making things I know he’s passionate about. General Tso’s chicken is one of those things. He’s literally been talking about it for 6 months. I’ve been reading and combining recipes for months, and I finally came up with a great one.
As most recipes are, this recipe is pretty adaptable–the sauce could be used on a vegetable stir-fry or over tofu if you’re going meatless, you can make it spicier, decrease the ginger, etc. Make it your own. That’s what cooking is all about anyway.
I loved the combination of flavors–sweet, tangy, gingery, slightly spicy…everything I love about Asian food!
- 2lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 7-8Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- ½tsp pepper
- canola or olive oil
- 3 green onions, sliced
- sesame seeds for garnish, optional
- for sauce:
- 4½Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 4½Tbsp ketchup
- 5Tbsp rice vinegar
- 4Tbsp soy sauce
- 1Tbsp sesame oil
- ¾c brown sugar
- ¾c water
- 2½Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼-1/2tsp red pepper flakes (depending on your heat preference)
- In a shallow bowl, combine cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken pieces in cornstarch mixture and tap off excess. (You can also put the chicken and cornstarch mixture in a large plastic bag or container and shake to coat).
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook chicken pieces in batches, using a small drizzle of olive or canola oil to cook each batch.
- Make sauce by combining all sauce ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Return chicken to skillet and pour in sauce. Stirring occasionally, cook over medium heat until thickened, about 3-6 minutes. Top with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
I am totally a blog stalker and am a lover of General Tso's chicken! Thanks for the recipe. Keep up the great work. PS – the poppers were divine!
Great recipe! I bookmarked it. I think its great that none of your ingredients are hard to find. So often that is the case for me with chinese food.
That looks soooo good!
This looks SO good! I will definitely be trying this soon!
-Amy
http://www.singforyoursupperblog.com
Hmm, I've given up on making my own. I've taken to cheating by using the Iron Chef General Tso sauce. I'll have to give your recipe a try.
I really enjoy reading your blog and all the yummy things you come up with. I have been having HUGE cravings for Asian food lately, but my daughter is allergic to peanuts, sesame seeds, and sesame seed oil. Do you know if there is any substitute for sesame seed oil? I haven't had any Asian food in such a long time!
Jill– I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's peanut allergy. What a bummer!
Sesame oil has a rather unique flavor so there's not much by way of substitute, but you will only be removing one layer of the flavors going on in the dish by not using it.
The recipe should still taste great if you use canola or another vegetable oil. Let me know how it goes!
This is perfect timing! My boys absolutely love general tsao's. They've had to go gluten-free this past year and so I haven't looked up a recipe yet. They'll be so excited. My only question is the hoisin sauce. I've never used it but looks like it contains wheat and soy (that's for me). How important is this here? I have a soy-free "soy" sauce. Thanks for any suggestions!
nm love – I browsed online and found a few gluten-free eaters who recommended Dynasty brand, saying that it was gluten free.
You could possibly substitute plum sauce–I'm not sure about the gluten or soy content.
Hope that helps!
Thanks! I'll check the plum sauce. I just didn't know what taste it brought to the table so wasn't sure how to replace it, know what I mean? I'm thinking we're going to have some this weekend.
chinese food? not my favorite. however, i'll always stop to salute general tso–that mix of spicy and sweet is also my favorite part about asian cuisine.
You don't know me but we LOVE your recipes and make them often. This one was so good I couldn't resist commenting. We love that your recipes are healthy and so yummy. Thanks!
Just had to leave a follow-up… We had this for dinner tonight and it was SO good. I ended up making a hoisin sauce from a recipe. Worked out great. Next time I'll make some extra sauce though. I thought it was perfect but my husband likes his rice and everything drenched. Thanks for the post!
I keep searching for the perfect General Tso's recipe, with no success. Perhaps the hoisin sauce was what I was missing? Thanks for the beautiful-looking recipe!
Thanks for the great recipe, I can't wait to try it out!
I just discovered and love love love your blog! I will follow you weekly. Keep up the great work!
Just made it. Turned out well (am sure will be better with practice), but the sauce is on the mild side. The General has always been a bit angrier whenever I have had it at restaurants. I am thinking that a tablespoon of sambol / garlic chili sauce found next to Sriracha in stores should get the perspiration started. And as always, a little Sriracha on the side.
I made this with a lot of broccoli florets and a whole yellow onion in 1/2in pieces. Made the sauce the night before to get the flavors to marry.
This looks great!
I came across this today, and made it tonight. This was AMAZING! My hubby and I both scarfed it down. So much better than our local Asian restaurant. Even my in-laws were drawn in by the smell (Couldn't eat it though due to lent!) They called dibs on the leftovers for tomorrow! I also made pot stickers and used the extra sauce in the pan to dip them in… To Die For!
I tried this dish a few nights ago, and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! I've never really cooked asian food before so I was a little scared by the long list of ingredients (most of which I had to buy for the first time ever) but it was so worth it!
All my roommates tried it too, and each of them loved it! Great recipe! Keep them comin'!
P.S. I am also gluten-free and I used Central Market's hoisin sauce!
Omigosh – this meal is absolutely delicious. My husband and I both loved it and I already can’t wait to make this dish again!
So glad you loved it! I was scraping the sauce out of the bowl when I had it the first time. LOVE IT.
Haha…my husband did just that tonight! We finished eating the leftovers and towards the end of the meal he was scraping what was left of the sauce out of the bowl. Now that is the sign of a delicious meal!
My wife and I made this tonight and loved it!