Best General Tsos Chicken From Serious Eats Recipes

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup rice wine (240 ml), ¼ cup (60 ml) of soy sauce, and cubed chicken thighs. Stir and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour.
• In a separate large bowl, combine 1 cup of flour (125 g) and 1 tablespoon of salt.
• Remove chicken from wine/soy marinade and place in flour mixture. Mix thoroughly, until all the chicken pieces are coated.
• Fill a dutch oven or large pot at least 2 inches (5 cm) deep with vegetable oil. Heat oil to 365˚F (185˚C). Place chicken pieces in frying oil, stirring occasionally. Fry until they are golden brown, roughly 4-5 minutes. Remove chicken from oil and set aside to drain on paper towels or a wire rack.
• In a large skillet, bring one tablespoon of vegetable oil to medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger, stirring frequently for one minute.
• Add dried chili pods. Continue stirring for 30 seconds before adding rice wine, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sugar. Stir occasionally until mixture is bubbling.
• Add cornstarch slurry, stirring frequently. The sauce should begin to thicken in a minute or less.
• Add cooked chicken pieces, stirring them to coat with the sauce.
• Remove from heat and garnish with green onions and rice.
• Nutrition Calories: 4192 Fat: 434 grams Carbs: 55 grams Fiber: 3 grams Sugars: 18 grams Protein: 33 grams
• Enjoy!

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.

JOE'S GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup of cornstarch until no lumps remain, then mix in the chicken until evenly coated in batter.
• In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until the chicken turns golden brown and begins to float, about 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the dried peppers, and cook for about 30 seconds until the color brightens. Add the chicken, and cook for a few minutes until the chicken turns a deep, golden brown. Stir the vinegar, rice wine, sugar, soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch together in a small bowl. Pour into the wok, and boil until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy, about 2 minutes. Garnish with green onions to serve.

EASY GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss green beans with 1 Tbsp. oil, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until crisp-tender and blackened in spots, 12-15 minutes.
• Whisk cornstarch, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a large bowl. Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over high. Add chicken to cornstarch mixture and toss to coat. Cook half of chicken, turning occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and a light brown crust forms, 5-7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix honey, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, Sriracha, tomato paste, ginger, 3 Tbsp. water, and remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a medium bowl.
• Transfer chicken to a plate. Heat remaining 3 Tbsp. oil in skillet over high. Cook remaining chicken 5 minutes, then add chiles (you can add a few more depending on your heat preference) and cook, stirring and making sure chiles make contact with bottom of pan, until chicken is cooked through and chiles have toasted and puffed, about 1 minute more. Stir in honey mixture. Return first batch of chicken to skillet, toss to coat, and cook until sauce is reduced and thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Divide chicken and green beans among plates. Top with scallions. Serve with rice alongside.

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.).

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN (RESTAURANT QUALITY)

Steps:

• For the marinade and sauce: Whisk hoisin, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarchand water in bowl.
• Combine 6 tablespoons hoisin mixture and chicken in zipper-lock bag; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering.
• Cook garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add 2 cups hoisin mixture and simmer, whisking constantly, until dark brown and thickened, about 2 minute.
• Cover and keep sauce warm.
• For coating and frying: Whisk egg whites in shallow dish until foamy.
• Combine cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and remaining hoisin mixture in second shallow dish until mixture resembles course meal.
• remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with aper towels.
• Toss half of the chicken with egg whites until well coated, then dredge chicken in cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere.
• Transfer coated chicken to plate and repeat with remaining chicken.
• Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until oil registers 350 degrees.
• Fry half of the chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking.
• Transfer chicken to paper towel-lined plate.
• Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken.
• To serve: Warm sauce over medium-low heat until simmering, about 1 minute.
• Add crispy chicken and toss to coat.
• Serving over rice or noodles would be awesome!