General Tso's Chicken

General Tso's Chicken your way - all white breast meat or thighs - Way better than take-out - involves some work but it is well worth the effort!

General Tso's Chicken

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 4 cups vegetable oil for frying

• 1 large egg

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breast or boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp white sugar

• pinch of white pepper

• 1 cup cornstarch

Sauce

• 2 tsp cornstarch

• 1/4 cup water

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

• 3 Tbsp chopped green onions

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 6 dried whole chilies

• 1 strip orange zest

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 3 Tbsp chicken broth

• 2 tsp sesame oil

• 2 Tbsp peanut oil

• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar

• 2 tsp ground ginger

Directions

1. Steam a large crown of broccoli to add to the dish at the end.

2. Cook white or brown rice to serve with the meal.

For the Chicken

1. Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees.

2. Wisk egg in a large mixing bowl. Add chicken, salt, sugar, and pepper; mix well. Mix in cornstarch, a little bit at a time, until chicken is well coated.

3. Working in batches, carefully drop one piece of chicken at a time into the hot oil. Fry until chicken turns golden brown and begins to float, about 3 minutes. Remove chicken to a paper towel covered cooling rack an begin the next batch of chicken.

4. Once all the chicken has been fried, refry the chicken starting with the first batch. Fry each batch until the chicken turns deep golden brown, about 2 minutes. Replace the used paper towels and drain the batches of chicken again.

For the Sauce

1. Whisk 2 tsps of cornstarch in water until dissolved; set aside.

2. Heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in green onion, garlic, whole chiles, and orange zest. Cook and stir until garlic turns golden and chiles brighten, 1 - 2 minutes.

3. Add sugar, soy sauce, chicken broth, peanut oil, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and ginger; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Stir the cornstarch/water mixture again and add it into the boiling sauce. Return to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy from the cornstarch, about 1 minute.

4. Stir the chicken into the boiling sauce, Reduce heat to low and cook until the chicken is heated through and has absorbed some of the sauce, about 3 minutes.

5. Add the broccoli to reheat and serve over rice.

Note: The chicken does not necessarily need to be fried, you could just saute the chicken until it is done but the fried version is so delicious.

Enjoy!