Best General Tsos Chicken From Serious Eats Food

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Bring oil to between 350 and 375 degrees F. Cut chicken into chunks, then mix together with cornstarch. Fry in oil.
• For the sauce: Mix together soy sauce, sugar, hoisin, vinegar, cornstarch, garlic, ginger, chili flakes and 1/2 cup water. Toss fried chicken in sauce, then serve.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place sauce ingredients in a quart jar with a lid and shake to mix. If you make this ahead of time just refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it. This also keeps your dirty dishes down.
• Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange but trust me it works. It will be VERY thick almost paste like. Add ALL the chicken pieces and stir to coat. Using a fork remove ONE chicken piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off. YES even though the mixture has a weird consistency it will not stick like paste and the excess will drip off. Add chicken to the hot (350 degree) oil and fry until crispy. Only cook 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time. You do not want to lower the temp of the oil by cooking too many at a time. You can use a simple cooking or candy thermometer to judge the temp of the oil.
• Drain on paper towels. Want them extra crispy? Put them on a rack over a sheet pan. Keep warm- I just put them in the oven with the oven off. Repeating until all chicken is fried.
• In a separate wok or large skillet add a small amount of oil and heat to 400 degrees. Again, a candy thermometer works great. (Want less dishes? You can just drain the oil after you fry all the chicken, leave a small amount (about a tsp) in the pan and use the same pan if you like.)
• Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.
• Stir (or shake jar) sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. Some reviews didn't kniw what "thick" meant. Thick like the same sauce you get at a restaurant.you want it to just coat the chicken. If it gets too thick, add a little water or other liquid. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.
• Add chicken to sauce in wok and heat just until the chicken is hot enough for you. It may not even need a minute if you kept the chicken warm. The quicker you serve it the crispier the chicken stays.
• Don't be scared by any negative reviews. It's not rocket science though if you have never cooked with a cornstarch slurry it may feel like an experiment. Trust yourself! You've got this! If you have any doubts reread the recipe and get everything in order before you start to cook. I promise you will thank yourself and maybe even me! Enjoy!
• Oh it's great served over rice!

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes. Toss each piece with cornstarch. Set aside.
• In a separate dish, combine all the ingredients for your sauce together.
• Preheat a non-stick skillet with oil. Cook each chicken piece until all the sides are golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan. Leave about 1 tbsp of oil in the pan for cooking.
• Add the garlic, ginger and pepper flakes. Sautee for about 30 seconds.
• Add the sauce to the skillet and bring it to a simmer then add the chicken and toss to coat. Serve right away!

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Sauce-Marinade: Mix the soy, hoisin, vinegar, chilli and sesame oil.
• Marinate Chicken: Take out 2 tablespoons of Sauce-Marinade and mix with chicken. Add ginger and garlic to chicken, mix, then marinate 30 minutes.
• Dust chicken: Add cornflour into chicken and toss to coat, ensuring pieces are separated so they get fully coated.
• Shake off excess: Tip into a colander and shake to remove excess cornflour (or grab handfuls, shake so cornflour falls through your fingers).
• Finish Sauce: To the remaining Sauce-Marinade (that you made in Step 1), add sugar and cornflour. Mix, then add chicken stock and mix.
• Heat oil: Heat 2 cm / 4/5" oil in a deep skillet (or large pot - whatever you're comfortable with) to 200°C/390°F. To use less, see Note 4.
• Fry: Cook chicken 3 minutes, turning halfway, until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate.
• New / clean skillet: Discard oil, wipe skillet and return to heat. Or use another large skillet.
• Stir Fry Sauce: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, chilli flakes, saute 30 seconds until garlic is light golden. Add Sauce, bring to simmer and stir occasionally until it thickens enough that you can draw a path across pan base.
• Toss! Add chicken, toss to coat quickly - the quicker you are, the crispier the chicken stays! Transfer to serving plate, garnish and serve immediately with your rice of choice.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken: Place your broccoli florets in a medium bowl and add 2 tablespoons water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
• Heat the oil in a 4-quart (3.8-liter) Dutch oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) using a frying thermometer. Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Mix 1 1/2 cups (335 grams) of the tempura flour and 1 cup (240 milliliters) water into a thick batter. It should look like thick pancake batter. Dredge the chicken cubes in the 1 cup (223 grams) of tempura flour and then coat them in the batter. Fry them in two batches until golden brown and crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain the chicken on paper towels or a rack.
• Heat a wok or large skillet to high and add 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) of oil. When you see the first wisps of white smoke, stir in the fried chicken, onion, chiles, broccoli, and 1/3 of the ginger and garlic and cook them for about 30 seconds.
• For the sauce: While the chicken cooks, add the oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, sugar, white vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch slurry, red food coloring if using, 1/3 cup water and the remaining chopped ginger and garlic into a 1-quart (946-millileter) saucepan and bring the heat up to medium. Whisk gently as it comes to a simmer. Allow it to simmer and keep whisking it for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and reserve it.
• Stir in the sauce and allow it to coat the chicken and simmer. Cook it, folding all the ingredients until they are well coated, about 2 minutes. Garnish with the scallions.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN (TSO CHUNG GAI)

Steps:

• Mix together egg, salt, black pepper, and cornstarch in a bowl.
• Add the chicken cubes; mix to coat, and marinate for at least 15 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, garlic, ginger,hoisin sauce, sugar, rice wine vinegar, and sherry for the sauce; reserve.
• Heat wok over high heat for a minute or so; add about 3 1/2-4 cups of peanut oil to wok, and heat to 350 degrees F.
• With tongs, remove chicken cubes individually from bowl, dust with 1 tbsp. cornstarch, shaking off excess, and place in the hot oil.
• Deep-fry chicken pieces for 1 1/2-2 minutes, until browned and crisp.
• turn off heat, and remove chicken with a wire strainer and drain over a bowl.
• Pour off all but 1 1/2 tbsp. of the oil from the wok.
• Heat the wok over high heat for 20-30 seconds; add the chilies and stir-fry for 15-20 seconds, then add the green onions, cooking for 30 seconds more.
• Add the chicken and cook, stirring, for 1 minute; remove all from wok and set aside.
• Stir sauce mixture into wok,stirring well, until sauce thickens into a nice glaze
• add chicken and chilis/onions back into the wok, stirring until everything is well coated, about 1 1/2-2 minutes.
• Place on platter; and garnish with steamed broccoli florets.
• Serve with rice.

MEAN GUY'S GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, thoroughly blend the 1/2 cup of cornstarch and the eggs; add the chicken and toss to coat.
• If the mixture is too thick, add some vegetable oil to separate the pieces.
• In a small bowl, prepare the sauce mixture by combining the 2 tsp cornstarch with the wine, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce.
• First-Stage Frying: Heat 1-2 inches of peanut oil in a wok to medium-high heat (350-400).
• Fry the chicken in small batches, just long enough to cook the chicken through.
• Remove the chicken to absorbent paper and allow to stand (this step can be performed well in advance, along with the sauce mixture, with both refrigerated).
• Second-Stage Frying: Leave a tablespoon or two of the oil in the wok.
• Add the pepper pods to the oil and stir-fry briefly, awakening the aroma but not burning them.
• Return the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until the pieces are crispy brown.
• The General's Favorite Sauce: Add the sauce-mixture to the wok, tossing over the heat until the sauce caramelizes into a glaze (1-2 minutes).
• Serve immediately.
• Serves 4, along with steamed broccoli and rice.

BEST GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN FROM SERIOUS EATS

Steps:

• MARINADE.
• In a large bowl, beat egg whites until broken down and lightly foamy.
• Add soy sauce, wine, and vodka. Whisk to combine. Set aside half of marinade in a small bowl.
• To large bowl, add baking soda and cornstarch and whisk to combine. Add chicken and turn with fingers to coat thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
• DRY COAT.
• In a second large bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk until homogenous. Add reserved marinade from Step 3. Whisk until mixture has coarse, mealy clumps. Set aside. (I would put this in a large plastic bag.).
• SAUCE.
• In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, wine, vinegar, chicken stock, sugar, sesame seed oil, and cornstarch. Stir with a fork until cornstarch is dissolved and no lumps remain. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, combine oil, garlic, ginger, minced scallions and red chilies. Place over medium heat (that's right, don't preheat skillet!).
• Cook, stirring, until vegetables are aromatic and soft, but not browned, about 3 minutes.
• Stir sauce mixture and add to skillet, making sure to scrape out any sugar or starch on the bottom. Cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens, about 1 minute.
• Add scallion segments. Transfer sauce to a bowl to stop cooking, but don't wipe out skillet.
• TO FINISH.
• Heat 1 1/2 quarts oil in a large wok or Dutch oven to 350°F and adjust flame to maintain temperature.
• One piece at a time, remove chicken from marinade and place in dry coat mixture and toss to coat and press dry mixture onto chicken to help it adhere. When all chicken is in dry coat mixture, make sure every piece is well-coated.
• Lift chicken 1 piece at a time, shake off excess coating, and carefully LOWER into hot oil (DO NOT DROP IT!). Once all chicken has been added, cook, agitating with long chopsticks or a metal spider, and adjust flame to maintain temperature of 325-375°F, until chicken is cooked through and very crispy, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer cooked chicken to a paper towel-lined bowl to drain.
• Add chicken to empty skillet (the one you didn't wipe out in Step 12) and return sauce to skillet. Toss chicken, folding it with a rubber spatula until all pieces are thoroughly coated.
• Serve immediately with white rice. (You may prefer to have more than 1/2 cup rice per serving.).