Recipe: General Tso's Chicken
Almost nobody in Hunan has ever heard of General Tso's Chicken, the most famous Hunan dish in America. Like many other American-Chinese favorites, the roots to China are vague but interesting.
You may know the dish as General Tsuo's, or Tzo's or Tao's or some other variation. You couldn't really pronounce the name, but order it anyway at Panda Garden because of its addictiveness. Who cares if it isn't really Chinese food, like your ABC friend hinted?
General Tso's Chicken became popular in America via some enterprisingly Taiwanese chefs who opened Hunan restaurants in New York in the 1970s. Hunan cuisine is traditionally very spicy, full of smoky chilis and pickled vegetables. But to appeal to American diners, the chefs started deep-frying, and sweetening the sauces. They improved upon each other's crispy chicken dishes until they got a crunchy, sweet, sour, and mildly spicy coating. You can read more about the history in Fuchsia Dunlop's NYT article, or Jennifer 8. Lee's The Fortune Cookie Chronicles; both writers trace the original General Tso's back to Taiwan.
I first tried making the Taiwanese version from Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province. But the recipe calls for starch in the marinade and sauce, instead of as an outside coating, which doesn't create a create the crunchiness I was expecting. I wasn't the only one who was disappointed by the original version. On trying the chicken dish in Taiwan, Jennifer 8. Lee wrote, "The dominant flavor was soy sauce. That was followed by chopped garlic and a kick from spicy chili peppers. The chicken was appropriately chewy, but there was no crispy, fried batter coating. Where was the sweetness? The tanginess? Instead, it had a strong salty flavor."
The older version is like the stodgy artiste who refuses to waver to popular opinion. Which is respectable. But there's a reason Americanized General Tso's is so good. It's brash, super crisp, and sweet. Like pop music, it just hooks you.
So here is my altered General Tso's Chicken. I retained some of Dunlop's details, like using boneless chicken thighs instead of chicken breast for a juicier bite. The tomato paste for the sauce works, though I reduced the vinegar content and added some sugar. The major difference is the cornstarch coating. I may skew traditional with most other Chinese dishes, but I still love the sublime, proud crunch of American-Chinese fried chicken.
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Other chicken recipes to try:
Chinese-Caribbean "Jerk" Chicken Wings
Spicy Wok-Fried Chicken with Chili (Lazi jiding)
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General Tso's Chicken
Serves 2 to 3 as part of a multi-course meal
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
6 dried red chilis
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
3 cups peanut oil for deep-frying
2 cups cornstarch
1 big pinch white sesame seeds, for garnish
Scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish
Marinade:
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 egg yolk
Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons chicken stock or water
Mix ingredients for marinade. Slice chicken into 1-inch cubes and add to marinade mixture. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
Mix ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
Drip excess marinade off the chicken, and toss cubes in the 2 cups cornstarch. Shake off excess cornstarch before frying.
Add about 2 inches of peanut oil to your wok. Heat wok until just smoking, then add the first batch of chicken cubes and deep-fry until cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
Drain all but 1 tablespoon of oil. (You can pour the oil into a heatproof container and save for later use.) Reheat wok over medium-heat heat. Add dried chilis, garlic, and ginger to wok and stir-fry until chilis begin to blacken and become fragrant, about 1 minute. Add sauce mixture and stir until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes. Return chicken to wok and stir well to coat with sauce. Transfer chicken to serving dish. Garnish with white sesame and scallions. Serve with white rice and vegetables.
Yum! I am bookmarking this
Yum! I am bookmarking this now, really eager to make it.
Love this
It looks great! I will definitely have to try this out.
General Tso's chicken
This looks lovely. I can't wait to try this on my husband. This is the only thing he will order when we eat Chinese out for dinner.
I'm a fan of Chinese deli.
I'm a fan of Chinese deli. This recipe is really tender juicy chicken which can be dipped in chili sauce and can be enjoyed with rice along with their house tea and dimsum :)
Can't Wait to Tell My Taiwanese Friend
What an interesting history! I always thought that General Tso's was like chop suey--an American invention. I definitely need to tell my Taiwanese friend this story, esp b/c he always makes fun of P.F. Chang's and Panda Express' General Tso's chicken.
Gerenal Tso's Chicken
I like to think of myself as an ethic food "purist", but the original versions of some Chinese dishes like the General Tso's chicken are quite disappointing. Thank you for this awesome version blending the best of both styles.
Kate - Agreed. There are few
Kate - Agreed. There are few Chinese foods the US does better, but this is one of them.
I'm the opposite. One of the
I'm the opposite.
One of the reason I don't like US-versions of most Chinese foods is because they're too sweet.
I've been looking for a recipe for this!
Ooooh I've been looking for a recipe for General Tso's chicken for a while but have never found one that 'looks right' if you know what I mean.
Love it, love it, love it! This recipe looks GOOD! Can't wait to try it thank you!
just made this
and it was delicious! the dried red chiles aren't spicy at all, i thought they would be. it was scrumptious we ate the whole pan of chicken, between two people. next time i'll add some red pepper flakes to the oil too. thanks for the recipe!!
Maggie - If you want really
Maggie - If you want really spicy, you can slice open the dried chilis. ;) Red pepper flakes will be tamer.
That chicken looks tasty!
That chicken looks tasty!
Awesome recipe; better than the take-out places here!!!!!!!
I LOVED this recipe and so did my family! I only regretted not making enough of it. This is definitely a keeper! Thanks so much!
UnFried?
Would it be possible to modify the recipe to not include frying the chicken. I love General Tso's as is, but I'm looking to make healthy improvements where I can, does anyone know how much fat/cholesterol the frying process adds to the recipe. I've seen calorie counts for takeout and they're quite scary!
un-fried
We have a healthier take on gen. tso but it's far less popular than the original. We substitute tenders or breast meat for the thighs, give them a quick grill mostly for the markings (exec chef likes it) wrap them in parchment paper with green onion and mushrooms and bake it off. The sauce is made in the same fashion but we use ketchup (don't tell!) we get the sauce boiling and thickening before we even get the chicken out of the oven. Once you think the sauce is about to turn and burn throw in all of the chicken/onion/mushroom and the temp drops drastically. Toss, bring it to the desired thickness, plate, garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Awesome!
I originally found this recipe about 6 months ago. We just loved it!!!!! I wanted to make it again, but lost the recipe. I stupidly did not bookmark the page, and couldn't remember which recipe I originally printed out when I googled it. Anyway, I thought I had the right recipe, but the one I made the 2nd time was definately not this one. Way too sweet!!!! Not willing to give up, I kept searching and voila! I found you again. Thank you, Thank you so much. This is the BEST General Tso's chicken recipe ever! I have now bookmarked this page. Now I'm set...unless my computer crashes!!!
CORNSTARCH
I got confused for a bit, umm the ingredients section reads TWO cups of cornstarch, yet in the directions, you say to use only ONE up of cornstarch...did you mean two? or is it one cup there and another cup somewhere else you didn't mention in the directions? Sorry, just got confused, gonna try making it tomorrow for lunch for my dad. He's cutting down the takeouts for awhile and he LOVES general tsos =)
Egg yolks and soy sauce
Hello, Great Page, just wondering what the egg yolk adds to the marinade. Thanks for the recipe !!
Egg yolks and soy sauce
Hello, Great Page, just wondering what the egg yolk adds to the marinade. Thanks for the recipe !!
Stan - It helps the
Stan - It helps the flour/starch adhere better to the chicken.
this stuff is the bomb, on
this stuff is the bomb, on my way to publix right now
gotta try this
Wow! Looks awesome! One question if I may...can the sauce be made in quantity and successfully frozen for later use?
Change of Name
Hi, here in the Philippines in some restaurants it's just called "General's Chicken". In my opinion, if nicely done, it challenges the Colonel's, hahaha :)
w00t!
Thanks for sharing this chicken. I love General Tsao's chicken but not the grease from Chinese restaurants so this way, I can watch the volume of oil that goes into the dish.
great !!!
Just prepared the genral tso chicken and it was just great!
In Holland the dish is unknown but I always wanted to try it.
erybody that tasted it just loved it
thanks Mike
My Bellweather
When my wife and I try out a new Chinese restaurant we ALWAYS order Hot and Sour soup and General Tso's chciken to judge how we will like other items on the menu, for future reference. Hasn't failed us yet. Can't wait to try this version this weekend.
Cheers, David
great recipe
I had read this recipe a while back and tried it.. loved it. .. Glad i found it again today will have to have the wife make it or find a restaurant that does make it
Coating
When I was making Dunlop's version, I didn't realize that it wasn't going to be completely covered in battered. I thought the amount of potato flour used was way too little. Now, I understand...
I couldn't find red chiles at the store, so I substituted them with a particular brand of chili sauce. It gave the sauce a tangy, hot and complicated flavor, but I think there was still too much tomato.
Pretty nice
I just stumbled across this recipe while having a look what I could make with my limited supplies.
I strayed from the recipe quite a bit. No eggs. No tomato paste. Subbed the tomato paste for some tomato/olive/onion tapanade I found in the fridge.
Also through a bit of oyster sauce in the marinade.
All in all quite a delicious dish. Shall have to try it when I have the right ingredients again. Served with some noodles it filled the gap in good ways.
general tso chicken
I have been looking for a good recipe for this dish. Not all are so good (to my taste). This one looks like it may be a keeper. thanks
copying recipes
How can I print a copy of this recipe?
LOVED this!
I have made this dish twice and I absolutely love it! Thanks for this recipe!
Fantastic recipe! I've tried
Fantastic recipe! I've tried takeout from everywhere in the city, and this ranks up there with the best of them! I've made this twice now with slight modifications (garlic powder /pepper /salt to the cornstarch) and would recommend this as the best General Tso's recipe on the net. Thanks!
Orange juice
Can you substitute the orange juice with other citric juice? Such as grapefruit or lemon?
Lemon and grapefruit juice
Lemon and grapefruit juice would both make the sauce very tart (lemon especially). Orange juice is ideal because of the sugar content.
Cornstarch
I don't see that you responded to HAM_HS inquiry about how much cornstarch is used in this recipe. You say 2 cups in the ingredients but only 1 cup in the instructions. Is it only 1 cup for the whole recipe?
Dianna - I apologize for
Dianna - I apologize for that. I changed the directions to include two cups, instead of one. Realistically, you can probably get away with tossing the chicken in just one, but I would use two cups just to be on the safe side, of making sure all the pieces are well-coated.
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