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General Tso Chicken(General Tso’s Chicken)

January 9, 2014 23 Comments

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General Tso Chicken or General Tso’s Chicken is one of the most famous Chinese dishes in American. I have heard a saying that people in China have never heard of General Tso’s Chicken, which is not true.

General Tso Chicken|ChinaSichuanFood

The dish is named after General Tso, who was a famous general in human province. But General Tso’s chicken has nothing to do with the general.

General Tso’s chicken is created by a famous cook Changgui Peng who is expert in Hunan Cuisine.

In 1970’s, the Taiwan’s premier Jiang Jingguo visited the restaurant where cook Peng worked in the middle night after duty. Only chicken thighs were left with no other ingredients available. So cook Peng cut the bones out and meat into small cubes, fried firstly and then stir-fried with soy sauce, vinegar, chopped garlic and ginger. And then add water starch and ladled with sesame oil. The premier loved the dish and asked for the name, cook Peng responded quickly with a name after General Tso. From that time, this General Tso’s Chicken has been the featured dish of that restaurant.

Three years later, cook Peng went to American and opened a restaurant. This General Tso’s chicken was loved by Kissinger and further featured by ABC, which makes General Tso’s Chicken as one of the most famous Chinese-American dish.

General Tso Chicken|ChinaSichuanFood

This cooking process is quite common in Hunan cuisine. For the success of making your own General Tso’s chicken, the most important step is the marinating process. As told above, chicken thighs are better than boneless chicken breast. Chinese people do not like to eat chicken breast very much compared with chicken wings and thighs. Even with Kung Pao Chicken, Chinese versions are almost made with chicken thighs.

General Tso Chicken|ChinaSichuanFood

In a small bowl, add light soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, chili oil and salt to make the stir-frying sauce.

In another bowl, add 2 teaspoons of corn starch and 2 teaspoons of chicken stock or water. The ratio should around 1:1. You can also mix the two bowls together to simplify the process.

General Tso Chicken sauce

Cut the bones out and the meat of chicken thighs into small cubes around 2 cm long. And then marinade with salt, light soy sauce, cooking wine and egg whites. Put aside for around 10 minutes.

Then add 1 tablespoon  of starch and coat the chicken cubes evenly just before the frying process. Grasp with hand until the chicken cubes are evenly coated.

And then heat up a relatively larger batch of  oil in wok. And stir-fry the chicken cubes until golden brown. And then return the fired chicken cubes back to deep fry again for a short time.

General Tso Chicken|ChinaSichuanFood

Leave around 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in wok, add chili pepper until the color turns darker. Return fire chicken cubes in with chopped ginger and garlic. And then add stir fry sauce, water starch and sesame oil. Mix well and transfer out immediately.

General Tso Chicken|ChinaSichuanFood

4 from 1 vote
Print
General Tso Chicken
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 
One of the most famous Chinese-American Chicken dish named after General Tso.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: chicken, General Tso
Servings: 2
Calories: 865 kcal
Author: Elaine
Ingredients
  • 4 ~5 boneless chicken thighs , around 1 pound; cut into 2 cm cubes
  • 6 dried chili pepper , cut into small section
  • 1 inch root ginger , chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves , chopped
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch for coating
  • 2 cups of cooking oil
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
Marinade sauce:
  • 1 egg white
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon cooking wine
  • 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
Stir fry sauce:
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon chili oil
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
Water Starch:
  • 2 teaspoons water or chicken stock
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
  1. Cut the bones out and the meat of chicken thighs into small cubes around 2 cm long. And then marinade with salt, light soy sauce, cooking wine and egg whites. Put aside for around 10 minutes.
  2. In a small bowl, combine light soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, chili oil and salt to make the stir-frying sauce.
  3. In another bowl, add 2 teaspoons of corn starch and 2 teaspoons of water. Mix well to make water starch.
  4. Coat the chicken cubes with cornstarch just before the frying process.
  5. Heat up the oil in wok and deep-fry the chicken cubes until golden brown. Transfer the chicken out and heat the oil again. Then return the fried chicken cubes and fry them once again for no more than 15 seconds. Transfer out and set aside. Meanwhile pour the extra oil out and leave around 1 tablespoon in wok.
  6. Add chili pepper in wok, stir fry until the color turns darker over middle fire. Return fire chicken cubes in with chopped ginger and garlic. Fry over high fire for 30 seconds.
  7. Stir in stir fry sauce in and mix evenly. Pour water starch and sesame oil. Mix thoroughly and move out immediately
  8. Garnish some sesame seeds before serving.
Recipe Notes
  1. To simplify the steps, you can mix the water starch and stir-fry sauce together but I recommend adding the starch at the very last step.
  2. The stir-frying process should be quick after returning fried chicken so remember to turn up the fire; otherwise, the crispy taste might be spoil.
Nutrition Facts
General Tso Chicken
Amount Per Serving
Calories 865 Calories from Fat 585
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 65g 100%
Saturated Fat 12g 60%
Cholesterol 222mg 74%
Sodium 3261mg 136%
Potassium 794mg 23%
Total Carbohydrates 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Sugars 8g
Protein 41g 82%
Vitamin A 83%
Vitamin C 8.5%
Calcium 4.8%
Iron 16.8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

General Tso Chicken|ChinaSichuanFood

Filed Under: poultry, Recipes

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  1. Lin wen says

    January 9, 2014 at 2:47 pm

    Nowadays my routine before bed time is to check your site no matter how late it is. I always smile to myself if I see your new post. I’m done reading goodnight 🙂

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      January 9, 2014 at 8:38 pm

      Hi Lin Wen,

      You are so kind and you cannot imagine how touched I am when I reading thoes words from you. I am writing about Chinese sauce the “jiang” for you. Just wait and I will post it when the photoes are done!

      Reply
  2. Lin wen says

    January 10, 2014 at 1:14 am

    Wow I’m so exciting! Can’t wait! I’m looking forward to read them. Thank you so much

    Reply
  3. Janie says

    April 18, 2014 at 3:59 pm

    Hi Elaine, I am thinking of making this tonight (the picture is making my mouth water and I’m still at work, ugh!), but only have one kind of soy sauce.. I’m assuming this will be okay, but what’s the reason for both a light and dark soy sauce?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      April 18, 2014 at 8:03 pm

      Hi Janie,
      It is ok to use one kind of soy sauce. The reason why I am using both is because they function slightly different. Light soy sauce is used mainly for the taste while dark soy sauce is mainly used to add the color. But it is ok to use light soy sauce only.

      Reply
  4. Alexandria says

    April 29, 2015 at 12:02 am

    What to do if you don’t have corn starch?

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      April 29, 2015 at 8:30 am

      Hi Alexandria,
      I would recommend replacing it with other starch like potato starch or purchasing some directly. Just a joke.
      If starch is unavailable, you can skip it and add some egg white. But I highly recommend using some in this recipe.

      Reply
      • Alexandria says

        May 15, 2015 at 8:24 am

        Thank you, for the reply. I din’t notice it until now. This is a great recipe! 🙂

        Reply
  5. Jean says

    October 18, 2015 at 7:05 am

    Your recipes are amazing!

    I’ve been a fan of your website ever since I found it. I live in London and it’s quite expensive to find good and authentic chinese restaurants. But ever since I’ve started cooking using your recipes I find that I can make better food than most of the chinese restaurants I go to in London!

    Thank you so much and keep posting!

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      October 18, 2015 at 9:03 pm

      Thanks Jean,

      This word really made my day!!!! I have not been to London yet but I have received lots of feedback about Chinese food there. And I am so glad to know my recipes can help. In fact, even in China, I love homemade food much more than restaurant style.

      Look forward to more good news. Happy cooking ahead.

      Reply
  6. Sarah Gotheridge says

    December 6, 2015 at 11:01 pm

    WOW! You are a master and I love your recipes. Do you se Pinterest much? The guys at Pinch of Yum are killing it with their blog and pinterest.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      December 7, 2015 at 11:35 am

      Thanks Sarah. Yes, I am a pinterester too. I know pinch of yum. They are doing excellent jobs.

      Reply
  7. Jenn says

    April 15, 2016 at 10:03 am

    How much soy sauce do you use in the marinade? It isn’t listed as an ingredient for the marinade but is mentioned in the instructions. We love your recipes- so much flavor!

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      April 15, 2016 at 9:23 pm

      Thanks Jenn! Recipe updated!

      Reply
  8. Swetha says

    April 20, 2016 at 2:42 pm

    Hi, I’m thinking of making it today and just noticed the recipe before the ingredients list and the recipe after the ingredients list have some differences and the ingredients list doesn’t coincide either •_• could you clear it up?

    Reply
  9. Vicki says

    June 29, 2016 at 11:05 pm

    I’m so excited to see this recipe and very eager to try it! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. If I could only choose one website to cook from, it would be yours.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      July 1, 2016 at 5:01 pm

      Thanks Vicki. You are so warm!

      Reply
  10. Lisa says

    July 12, 2016 at 11:28 am

    Woa yummy. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes.

    Reply
  11. Brandon J. Li says

    November 7, 2016 at 1:23 am

    Your recipe for General Tso’s Chicken is soooooo much better than what Chinese-American restaurants serve here in the States. Here in Ohio it is much too sweet which overwhelms all the other great ingredients but yours has just a subtle touch of sweetness which allows all the other wonderful flavors to really shine.
    My Grandma and Grandpa Li tried it when visiting Taiwan and fell in love with the more authentic Hunanese flavor though none of us care for the Americanized version. Your recipe reminds me of my Grandma’s but I think yours might even be better and all my family and friends loved it !!!

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      November 7, 2016 at 9:17 am

      Thanks Brandon,
      I believe that this overwhelming sweet taste exists widely in Americanized Chinese dishes. I see sugar is largely increased in lots of recipes for those dishes. In most Chinese dishes especially Hunan and Sichuan cuisine, sugar is just a way to create the freshness and to balance to taste (to mild the spiciness for example).

      I am so glad to have a such a fellow foodie as you. You can taste the difference out.

      Reply
  12. Tom says

    November 21, 2017 at 5:51 pm

    I made this recipe last night, it turned out very dry with hardly any sauce. Any idea where I could have gone wrong?

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      November 22, 2017 at 10:28 am

      Tom,
      The last tossing process should be quite quick with lower fire. Or next time you can double the sauce ingredients.

      Reply
  13. Jessica says

    July 5, 2019 at 11:37 pm


    Better than most restaurant versions. I love the authentic flavors of your recipes! Added a little more sugar. Very good.

    Reply

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Please not be limited by site name, as Elaine shares Chinese recipes beyond Sichuan dishes. Know me more from About Page

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