General Tso’s Chicken

Chinese takeout is definitely my go-to when I’m feeling lazy or just when I need that sweet/spicy combination that no other cuisine brings to the table. It’s too bad that I still have yet to find a good Chinese takeout place near my new place. Well atleast one that’s not 40 minutes away. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) in my case when I want/crave something, I HAVE to have it. So, in true Scherise fashion, I just get it done and make it myself. I’ve tried a bunch of store bought marinades that promise to turn your at home Asian recipes into the real thing but they’ve all fallen flat. The taste is there but the sticky and garlicky texture is always missing. Trust me, the secret is always in the sauce, and none of them delivered.

Here’s a simple general tso chicken recipe that’s just as good as takeout. It’s flavorful, sticky, and satisfies all of your Chinese food Dreams. Throw away those store bought marinades and make your own! Thank me later.

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken thighs or breasts cut into 1 inch chunks (about 3 full size breasts)

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• oil for frying

• 1 tablespoon minced ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

• 2 cloves garlic , minced

• 2 green scallions for topping

For the Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce

• 1/4 cup water

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon of sriracha

• 1/2 teaspoon of honey

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

Toss the chicken with the quarter cup of cornstarch and let sit while you mix the sauce ingredients. Combine the ingredients for your sauce. Add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, water, sugar, sriracha, and honey and tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk together. Put to the side.

Add the chicken to a pan with the oil and fry until crispy.

Remove chicken from the pan and drain all but a tablespoon of the oil and add the chili flakes, ginger and garlic.

Cook until you smell the garlic (about 30 seconds). Be careful not to burn the garlic, burning the garlic will change the taste of the dish and can make it bitter.

Add in the chicken and toss, then add in the sauce.

Stir for about 30 seconds until thickened. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and/or scallions.

Serve immediately.

Serve with white rice or fried rice.

For an easy fried rice recipe- Saute onions, garlic, and ginger, and eggs in a wok or pan. Add in day old white rice with equal parts oyster sauce and soy sauce. Drizzle in a teaspoon of sriracha and toss until the rice is fully coated and sizzling. You can then proceed to add any other fixings. I like to add shredded carrots and chopped scallions to finish mine off.