Description
General Tso Chicken is a beloved Chinese-American dish featuring crispy fried chicken pieces tossed in a sweet, tangy, and mildly spicy sauce. This recipe uses boneless skinless chicken thighs coated in a seasoned batter, fried to golden perfection, then coated in a flavorful sauce made with soy, hoisin, rice vinegar, and a touch of heat from red pepper flakes. Garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, this dish delivers restaurant-quality flavor in your own kitchen.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken and Coating
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup vegetable oil, for frying
Sauce and Garnish
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water (slurry)
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- Sliced green onions, for garnish
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the Chicken Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, cornstarch, all-purpose flour, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder until smooth. Add the bite-sized chicken pieces to this mixture and toss well to coat each piece evenly.
- Fry the Chicken: Heat vegetable oil in a deep skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Fry the coated chicken pieces in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan, until they turn golden brown and crispy, about 4-5 minutes per batch. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken and drain them on paper towels.
- Sauté Aromatics: Carefully pour out excess oil from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon. Add minced garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes to the pan and sauté for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until fragrant.
- Make the Sauce: In a separate bowl, whisk together soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, chicken broth, and sesame oil. Pour this mixture into the pan with aromatics and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Thicken the Sauce: Stir in the cornstarch slurry gradually and cook the sauce while stirring continuously until it thickens to a glossy consistency, about 2-3 minutes.
- Combine Chicken and Sauce: Return the fried chicken pieces to the pan and toss thoroughly to coat each piece evenly with the thickened sauce.
- Garnish and Serve: Transfer the sauced chicken to a serving dish and garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds before serving hot.
Notes
- For a lighter version, consider air-frying or baking the chicken instead of deep-frying.
- Adjust the amount of crushed red pepper flakes to suit your preferred heat level.
- Use low-sodium soy sauce to control the sodium content of the dish.
- Chicken thighs provide extra juiciness; you can substitute with chicken breast if preferred.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Chinese-American
