General Tso's Chicken

By mz0926

From Cook's Country

February/March 2008
Why this recipe works:
The appeal of General Tso’s Chicken recipes is easy to see: Boneless chicken pieces are marinated in soy sauce, battered, and deep-fried to a crispy brown before being coated with a sweet-hot sauce made with dried chiles, more soy, sugar, vinegar, hoisin sauce or tomato paste, garlic, and ginger. General Tso’s chicken recipes are great in Chinese restaurants, but homemade versions are typically gummy and bland. We wanted to do better. While many General Tso’s chicken recipes use boneless thighs, in side-by-side tests tasters preferred the milder white meat of boneless breasts. A combination of flour, corn starch, and baking soda helped the chicken brown evenly and kept the coating crisp, even when doused with the sauce. To build layers of flavor in our General Tso’s Chicken recipe, we used our potent marinade in the coating and also as a base for the sauce.

Ingredients

• 4 4
• IngredientsMarinade and Sauce1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 3 3 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 3 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 2 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 cups water
• 4 4 1 1/2 1-inch chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds) cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 4 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 2 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Coating and Frying3 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 cups cornstarch
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 4 4 cups vegetable oil

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions
1. For the marinade and sauce: Whisk hoisin, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and water in bowl. Combine 6 tablespoons hoisin mixture and chicken in zipper-lock bag; refrigerate for 30 minutes.


2. 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 minutes. Cover and keep sauce warm.


3. 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 coarse meal. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Toss half of 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.


4. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until oil registers 350 degrees. Fry half of 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.


5. To serve: Warm sauce over medium-low heat until simmering, about 1 minute. Add crispy chicken and toss to coat. Serve.