General Tso’s Chicken

• servings: Servings 4
• active time: 15 min
• total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

SAUCE/CHICKEN MARINADE:

3 tbsp soy sauce - light or all-purpose (NOT dark soy, Note 1)

1 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar (sub white wine vinegar)

2 tsp chilli paste , any (Sambal Oelak is great)

1 tsp sesame oil toasted preferably (Note 6)

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch

3/4 cup chicken stock/broth , low sodium

CHICKEN:

600g/ 1.4 lb chicken thighs , boneless skinless, cut into 2.5cm / 1" pieces (breast / tenderloin - Note 2)

1 tsp ginger , finely grated

1 tsp garlic ,finely grated

1 cup cornflour/cornstarch (Note 5)

1 - 4 cups oil, for frying (peanut, vegetable or canola; Note 4)

STIR FRY SAUCE:

2 tbsp oil (peanut, vegetable or canola)

2 tsp ginger , finely chopped (Note 3)

2 cloves garlic , finely chopped (Note 3)

1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)

GARNISHES (AT LEAST 1 RECOMMENDED):

Finely sliced green onion

Sesame seeds

Directions

Sauce/Marinade – first, mix the Sauce/Marinade. We do this in two parts. Firstly, mix all the ingredients except the sugar, chicken stock/broth and the cornflour/cornstarch, and use some of this initial mix to marinate the chicken (in Step 2 below). THEN mix in the sugar, stock and cornflour to the remainder to create the dish’s final Sauce – these are Sauce-specific ingredients we don’t want in the chicken marinade

Marinate Chicken – Use 2 tablespoons of the initial Sauce mix to marinate the chicken for 30 minutes along with fresh garlic and ginger. It’s really nice to add fresh ginger and garlic into the marinade to really get those flavours into the chicken

Coat chicken in cornflour – just add it into the bowl and mix, making sure the pieces are separate so they are fully coated

Shake off excess cornflour using whatever method works for you – I use a colander these days. Not all the cornflour falls through the colander holes and that’s ok. It still gives me a means to shake out most of the excess and some chunks settled at the base. We don’t want a thick layer of cornflour on the chicken because it can make it taste powdery and also you end up with loads of cornflour in the oil which burns unless you scoop it out

Cook chicken using preferred amount of oil – either shallow fry as I do (which is when the chicken is sitting on the base of the pan and the oil comes halfway up the chicken) or deep fry (which is when there is enough oil so the chicken floats around in the oil). You can even cook it with just a thin layer of oil in the pan but you’ll need to rotate each piece of chicken 4 to 6 times to get all sides crispy – which is a pain!

Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.

Sauté garlic, ginger and chilli flakes until garlic is golden and it smells amazing, then pour the sauce in

Simmer sauce for 2 minutes until it thickens enough so you can draw a path across the base

Add chicken

QUICKLY toss to coat then serve, stat! The faster you get it on the table, the crispier the chicken stays!

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.