General Tsos Chicken Saveur Recipes

BAKED GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the crispy chicken: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Set a rack on a sheet tray and spray with cooking spray.
• Place the flour in a wide shallow dish. Whisk together the soy sauce and eggs in another wide, shallow dish. Place the panko breadcrumbs in a third wide, shallow dish.
• Working in batches, dip the chicken pieces first in the flour, then in the egg mixture and then in the breadcrumbs.
• Place the chicken pieces on the rack, leaving space between each piece. Spray with cooking spray. Bake until crispy and golden brown, about 15 minutes.
• For the sauce. Meanwhile, whisk together the chicken broth, hoisin, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sriracha and cornstarch; set aside.
• Place a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the sesame oil. Add the ginger, pepper flakes and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the rice wine mixture, bring to a simmer and allow to thicken. Add the crispy chicken and toss to coat. Serve immediately with rice and garnish with sliced scallions.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
• To prepare the chicken, unfold the chicken thighs and lay them on a cutting board. Remove as much of the sinew as possible. (If some parts are very thick, cut them in half horizontally.) Slice a few shallow crosshatches into the meat. Cut each thigh into roughly 1/4-inch slices and place in a large bowl. Add the soy sauces and egg yolk and mix well. Stir in the potato flour and 2 teaspoons peanut oil and set aside. Using scissors, snip the chilies into 3/4-inch pieces, discarding the seeds. Set aside.
• Pour 3 1/2 cups peanut oil into a large wok, or enough oil to rise 1 1/2 inches from the bottom. Set over high heat until the oil reaches 350 to 400 degrees. Add half the chicken and fry until crisp and deep gold, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate. Repeat with the second batch. Pour the oil into a heatproof container and wipe the wok clean.
• Place the wok over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons peanut oil. When hot, add the chilies and stir-fry for a few seconds, until they just start to change color. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds longer, until fragrant. Add the sauce, stirring as it thickens. Return the chicken to the wok and stir vigorously to coat. Remove from the heat, stir in the sesame oil and top with scallions. Serve with rice.

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 TSAO'S CHICKEN II

Steps:

• Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken cubes; sprinkle with salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and white pepper; mix well. Mix in 1 cup of cornstarch a little bit at a time until the chicken cubes are well coated.
• In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until they turns golden brown and begin to float, about 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to cool as you fry the next batch. Once all of the chicken has been fried, refry the chicken, starting with the batch that was cooked first. Cook until the chicken turns deep golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the green onion, garlic, whole chiles, and orange zest. Cook and stir a minute or two until the garlic has turned golden and the chiles brighten. Add 1/2 cup sugar, the ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.
• Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into the water, and stir 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. Stir the chicken into the boiling sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes until the chicken absorbs some of the sauce.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Put the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the chicken and stir well to combine all the flavors; cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Heat 2 inches of peanut oil in a wok or deep skillet to 375 degrees F. Mix the egg, cornstarch, water, and sesame oil in a large bowl until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Add the marinated chicken and coat it well with the batter. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken pieces in batches until they are browned and crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels. When you have fried all the chicken, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of oil. Over high heat, add the chilies, scallion, garlic, ginger, and orange zest. Stir-fry for 1 minute then pour in the soy sauce, chicken stock, vinegar, and honey and bring it to a boil. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth. Pour the slurry into the boiling sauce, in 2 additions, until the sauce thickens. Add the chicken pieces and cook until they are heated through, about 2 more minutes. Garnish with scallions and cilantro leaves. Serve with white rice.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken, mix the egg white with the potato flour in a bowl, then add the soy sauce, Shaohsing wine (or sherry) and the chicken. Turn the chicken over to coat it.
• For the sauce, mix together the tomato purée, 2-3 tbsp water, potato flour, soy sauces, rice vinegar, sugar and Shaohsing wine and set this aside. Snip the chillies into 5cm lengths, discarding the seeds.
• Heat the oil in a wok and cook the garlic, ginger and chillies over a medium heat until they're aromatic and beginning to soften, but not brown.
• Mix the cornflour and plain flour for the coating with salt and pepper and tip into a broad shallow bowl. Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dip it in the flour mix and set the pieces onto a tray.
• Pour enough oil into a deep pan to come 8cm up the sides. Heat until it reaches 200C (if you drop in a test piece of chicken, it should sizzle straight away). Carefully add half the chicken pieces and fry until they're crisp and golden - agitating the pieces to make sure they don't stick together - about 4 mins. Lift the pieces out with a slotted spoon onto a double layer of kitchen paper. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
• Heat the wok, add the sauce mixture to the garlic, ginger and chillies in there and cook, stirring, until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Add the chicken and half the spring onions and warm everything through. Serve with the sesame seeds and the rest of the spring onions scattered on top. This doesn't give you huge servings so it's best to offer another dish with it, as well as boiled rice.