Reduced-Fat General Tso's Chicken

By mz0926

From Cook's Country
December/January 2013
General Tso’s chicken is a Chinese takeout staple, but after being battered, deep-fried, and coated in a sugary sauce, it’s hardly a healthy choice. To make a satisfying but lower-fat version at home, we start with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Crushed cornflakes give the coating a crunchy texture that can stand up to the sauce, and baking instead of frying saves calories. We replace most of the sugary hoisin sauce with doctored-up, cornstarch-thickened soy sauce, adding balsamic vinegar and apricot jam for controlled sweetness and garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes for a final hit of flavor.

Ingredients

• IngredientsCHICKEN Vegetable oil spray
• 5 cups (5 ounces) cornflakes
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• SAUCE1 2/3 cups water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup apricot jam
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions
1. FOR THE CHICKEN: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Set wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet and spray with oil spray. Process cornflakes in food processor until finely ground, about 10 seconds. Place flour in shallow dish. Whisk egg whites in second shallow dish until foamy. Place cornflake crumbs in third shallow dish.


2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Dredge chicken in flour; dunk in egg whites; then coat with cornflake crumbs, pressing to adhere. Transfer to prepared wire rack. Spray chicken lightly with oil spray. Bake until chicken is cooked through and coating is brown and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes.


3. FOR THE SAUCE: While chicken cooks, whisk water, soy sauce, jam, hoisin, cornstarch, and vinegar together in bowl. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in soy mixture, bring to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.


4. When chicken is cooked, return sauce to simmer over medium-low heat. Add cooked chicken and toss to coat.