cdkitchen > recipes > meals / dishes > dinner meals > meat and poultry dishes > chicken dishes > ethnic chicken > asian-style chicken > general tso's chicken > general tso chicken
General Tso Chicken
recipe at a glance
4 stars - 27 reviews
ready in: 30-60 minutes
4 stars - 27 reviews
ready in: 30-60 minutes
serves/makes: 6
photo by: Alex
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BROWSE MOREgeneral tso's chicken
asian-style chicken
ethnic style chicken
asian
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ingredients
***Sauce***
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger root
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup cooking wine
1 1/2 cup hot chicken broth
1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (optional)
***Meat***
3 pounds deboned dark chicken meat, cut into large chunks
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 egg
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup vegetable oil
***Frying and Serving***
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
2 cups sliced green onions
16 small dried hot peppers
directions
Sauce: Mix the cornstarch with the water. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, wine, chicken broth and MSG (if desired). Stir until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until needed.
Meat: In a separate bowl, mix the chicken, soy sauce and white pepper. Stir in egg. Add cornstarch and mix until chicken pieces are coated evenly. Add the vegetable oil to help separate chicken pieces. Divide chicken into small quantities and deep-fry at 350 degrees F until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
Place a small amount of oil in wok and heat until wok is hot. Add onions and peppers and stir-fry briefly. Stir sauce and add to wok. Place chicken in sauce and cook until sauce thickens. Garnish with green onions and peppers.
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nutrition
447 calories, 8 grams fat, 73 grams carbohydrates, 22 grams protein per serving.
recipe id: 1565submitted by: internationalrecipes
reviews
27 reviews
Guest: patrick
Wow! Look what I have been missing! I use to cook Asian dishes years ago but got away from it. But after cooking this dish? I am back. This was sooooo good! And I made double what the recipe called for. I used chicken breasts, this time, instead of chicken thighs. Simply unbelievable taste! I almost felt like running into the street, telling people they have to try this. And I made some Chinese Stir Fry Vegetables to go with it too. Oh man! I could never buy Chinese food again. You can bet I will be back here looking for other Asian recipes.
CarolinaPixel
Thank you! I've been searching FOREVER for a simple General Tso sauce recipe and this is as close to the real thing as I've ever gotten. It was easy and tasty. I don't know what the negative commentators were expecting but I was quite pleased. The next time I make it I'm going to add green peppers and a little heat to customize it. Thank you for sharing. :-)
SaraCate
I first made this last fall, when my family was craving General Tso's Chicken and we didn't want to deal with takeout. My 11-year-old stepson declared it "better than takeout!" He has eaten it many times since. The sauce may not be exactly like takeout, but it is quite good, and thickens up nicely - just give it time! I did realize that I didn't follow the frying instructions exactly - Iput the chicken in the egg/soysauce mix and *then* into cornstarch (instead of flour) and fried in canola oil - so it wasn't a 'battered' fried chicken. It turned out fine. We have found that leftovers are better stored with the chicken *in* ... read more
Guest: Ian K
This was great! The chicken can be eaten with just the bater, and the sauce just added more awsome! Though I did use Splenda in the place of shuger. All of these other comments say that the batter was "gloopy", I must say that it was one of the best batters that I have worked with (maybe the other people did not use the 3lbs of chicken?) As long as you follow the recipe to the letter, and can actualy cook you will be fine.
Guest: Jahoo9000
I just got done preparing and enjoying this dish. My wife and I are huge fans of take-out and since we've been over seas for a few years now we haven't been able to get it. This was my first time attempting this dish and I couldn't be happier with the result. I wouldn't be to scared of messy batter, since when is a batter neat and clean anyway. It only took me about 2 min to clean up. The only recomendations I have are to use a little less ginger(it was a bit overpowering in the final result) and wait for the suace to thicken before adding the chicken(that is if you like the chicken crispy, if not, follow this recipe to a T).Excellent dis... read more
Guest Foodie
This recipe was awesome!!!! I agree it was a bit messy, but well worth it. Once the chicken was coated and ready to fry it was quite gooey. I used a deep fryer, but I think if you tried to fry it in a pan it would have been more difficult. Anyway, my husband and I thought it was better than take-out.
Guest: shyangelbaby
I love this dish. This is my husbands favorite thing to order. So I tried the recipe. It was a hit in my house. In fact I cook it about once a month. The only thing I dislike is the mess. I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner for his birthday and this is what he requested. This is an A++++++ recipe. yummy good eats.
Guest: a chef in traning
this review only applies to the sauce-- not the chicken frying portion. my wife is Japanese, and makes a great fried chicken dish so i decided not to reinvent the wheel. Plus, honestly, with general tso the sauce is everything, if youve got a good sauce, you could eat it over chicken mcnuggets and it would probably taste great. as for the sauce-- it was a hit, everyone loved it, and i am not a pro chef here... basically the big trick is to trust author-- i put everything in, and i WAS worried... the pre-cooked sauce looked peanut brown... i was nervous the whole time i was cooking it... i didnt even add the chicken... but then really ... read more
Guest Foodie
We did this for "date night" and it was AMAZING!Best general tso ever, this one is a keeper!
Guest: Jillrbur
This is the easiest recipe I have ever used! It is better than any resturant I have tasted and I have eaten a lot of General Tso!!!!!!!!
Guest: 4Given
This was good tasting but I believe the amount of cornstarch required for the sauce was way too much. By the time the sauce thickened it was like paste. It was a good tasting paste but the texture affected the pleasure meter. The next time I make this recipe I'm cutting down the cornstarch probably by half. I might even consider using flour instead of cornstarch for the batter as well.
ccamp5ster
Very good. Easy to make! I did adapt it for my pressure cooker. Kids all loved it. No leftovers for my lunch :-)
Guest: Sarah AZ
The end result of this recipe was GREAT. I will make it again for sure. Boyfriend thought it was super. Things that were bad about this recipe: putting hot peppers into wok = spicy air, made me cough for a good 10 minutes. The preparation steps were rather messy, and time consuming. The ginger root was difficult to work with. But even after the messy and hard to work with stuff it turned out well worth it. Served with home-made Crab Rangoons and sticky white rice. Fabulous dinner!
Guest: NEV
Tasted nice, followed recipe to the letter,except for adding half a teaspoon of ground chinese 5 spice to the sauce, giving it that aniseedy tang.Will definately make again.
Guest: mhtraylordvm
I read all the other reviews and couldn't decide who to believe. Some hated it and others absolutely loved it. I had to try it for myself and I am in between. First of all, 3 lbs of chicken is way too much. One lb is plenty to feed a family of four, leaving the sauce quantity as is. The only thing I did different with my sauce was using ground ginger instead of minced because I couldn't find any minced ginger. I also did not add cornstarch directly to the chicken. Instead I put it in a ziploc and shook the chicken in it. In the end, the sauce/chicken was edible, but was not red enough, not spicy enough, had too much vinegar, and sim... read more
Guest: patrick
Wow! Look what I have been missing! I use to cook Asian dishes years ago but got away from it. But after cooking this dish? I am back. This was sooooo good! And I made double what the recipe called for. I used chicken breasts, this time, instead of chicken thighs. Simply unbelievable taste! I almost felt like running into the street, telling people they have to try this. And I made some Chinese Stir Fry Vegetables to go with it too. Oh man! I could never buy Chinese food again. You can bet I will be back here looking for other Asian recipes.
CarolinaPixel
Thank you! I've been searching FOREVER for a simple General Tso sauce recipe and this is as close to the real thing as I've ever gotten. It was easy and tasty. I don't know what the negative commentators were expecting but I was quite pleased. The next time I make it I'm going to add green peppers and a little heat to customize it. Thank you for sharing. :-)
SaraCate
I first made this last fall, when my family was craving General Tso's Chicken and we didn't want to deal with takeout. My 11-year-old stepson declared it "better than takeout!" He has eaten it many times since. The sauce may not be exactly like takeout, but it is quite good, and thickens up nicely - just give it time! I did realize that I didn't follow the frying instructions exactly - Iput the chicken in the egg/soysauce mix and *then* into cornstarch (instead of flour) and fried in canola oil - so it wasn't a 'battered' fried chicken. It turned out fine. We have found that leftovers are better stored with the chicken *in* ... read more
Guest: Ian K
This was great! The chicken can be eaten with just the bater, and the sauce just added more awsome! Though I did use Splenda in the place of shuger. All of these other comments say that the batter was "gloopy", I must say that it was one of the best batters that I have worked with (maybe the other people did not use the 3lbs of chicken?) As long as you follow the recipe to the letter, and can actualy cook you will be fine.
Guest: Jahoo9000
I just got done preparing and enjoying this dish. My wife and I are huge fans of take-out and since we've been over seas for a few years now we haven't been able to get it. This was my first time attempting this dish and I couldn't be happier with the result. I wouldn't be to scared of messy batter, since when is a batter neat and clean anyway. It only took me about 2 min to clean up. The only recomendations I have are to use a little less ginger(it was a bit overpowering in the final result) and wait for the suace to thicken before adding the chicken(that is if you like the chicken crispy, if not, follow this recipe to a T).Excellent dis... read more
Guest Foodie
This recipe was awesome!!!! I agree it was a bit messy, but well worth it. Once the chicken was coated and ready to fry it was quite gooey. I used a deep fryer, but I think if you tried to fry it in a pan it would have been more difficult. Anyway, my husband and I thought it was better than take-out.
Guest: shyangelbaby
I love this dish. This is my husbands favorite thing to order. So I tried the recipe. It was a hit in my house. In fact I cook it about once a month. The only thing I dislike is the mess. I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner for his birthday and this is what he requested. This is an A++++++ recipe. yummy good eats.
Guest: a chef in traning
this review only applies to the sauce-- not the chicken frying portion. my wife is Japanese, and makes a great fried chicken dish so i decided not to reinvent the wheel. Plus, honestly, with general tso the sauce is everything, if youve got a good sauce, you could eat it over chicken mcnuggets and it would probably taste great. as for the sauce-- it was a hit, everyone loved it, and i am not a pro chef here... basically the big trick is to trust author-- i put everything in, and i WAS worried... the pre-cooked sauce looked peanut brown... i was nervous the whole time i was cooking it... i didnt even add the chicken... but then really ... read more
Guest Foodie
We did this for "date night" and it was AMAZING!Best general tso ever, this one is a keeper!
Guest: Jillrbur
This is the easiest recipe I have ever used! It is better than any resturant I have tasted and I have eaten a lot of General Tso!!!!!!!!
Guest: 4Given
This was good tasting but I believe the amount of cornstarch required for the sauce was way too much. By the time the sauce thickened it was like paste. It was a good tasting paste but the texture affected the pleasure meter. The next time I make this recipe I'm cutting down the cornstarch probably by half. I might even consider using flour instead of cornstarch for the batter as well.
ccamp5ster
Very good. Easy to make! I did adapt it for my pressure cooker. Kids all loved it. No leftovers for my lunch :-)
Guest: Sarah AZ
The end result of this recipe was GREAT. I will make it again for sure. Boyfriend thought it was super. Things that were bad about this recipe: putting hot peppers into wok = spicy air, made me cough for a good 10 minutes. The preparation steps were rather messy, and time consuming. The ginger root was difficult to work with. But even after the messy and hard to work with stuff it turned out well worth it. Served with home-made Crab Rangoons and sticky white rice. Fabulous dinner!
Guest: NEV
Tasted nice, followed recipe to the letter,except for adding half a teaspoon of ground chinese 5 spice to the sauce, giving it that aniseedy tang.Will definately make again.
Guest: mhtraylordvm
I read all the other reviews and couldn't decide who to believe. Some hated it and others absolutely loved it. I had to try it for myself and I am in between. First of all, 3 lbs of chicken is way too much. One lb is plenty to feed a family of four, leaving the sauce quantity as is. The only thing I did different with my sauce was using ground ginger instead of minced because I couldn't find any minced ginger. I also did not add cornstarch directly to the chicken. Instead I put it in a ziploc and shook the chicken in it. In the end, the sauce/chicken was edible, but was not red enough, not spicy enough, had too much vinegar, and sim... read more
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