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Sticky, saucy, and super crispy, you’ll love this General Tso’s Chicken recipe. This take-out favorite is super easy to make at home and will be done by the time it takes for it to be delivered from your favorite restaurant!
A thick sauce loaded with flavor, sweet with a slightly spicy kick, your family is going to love this homemade General Tso’s Chicken. It’s one of our favorite take-out recipes and making it at home could not be easier. I know there’s always concern about making chicken crispy enough to mimic the restaurant’s but I’m here to walk you through it!
Want more easy take-out style recipes? Try my Easy Orange Chicken Recipe or my Spicy Teriyaki Chicken with Broccoli.
Why You’ll Love This General Tso’s Chicken Recipe
- It’s so delicious. The sweet but spicy sauce overtop crispy chicken? Sign me up! It’s a household favorite for a reason.
- It’s quick. You won’t believe that you’ll make this easy General Tso’s chicken recipe in 30 minutes. It’s perfect for dinner on a busy weeknight.
- It’s healthier than take out. You know exactly what is going into this recipe and can skip extra added sugars. Plus you can whip up some extra vegetables to coat in the sauce as well.
What You’ll Need
For the Chicken
- Chicken tenderloins — cubed
- Corn flour
- Seasoning: paprika, black pepper, salt
- Flour
- Oil
General TSO’s Sauce
- Chicken broth — use low sodium chicken broth to avoid the sauce being too salty
- Chili in oil
- Go Chu Jang Chili sauce
- Soy sauce — again, use low sodium soy sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Brown sugar
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Rice vinegar
- Corn starch
- Spanish paprika — optional to add color to the sauce
- Vegetable oil
Garnish
- Whole dry chili pepper pods
- Green onion
- Toasted sesame seeds
How To Make General Tso’s Chicken at Home
- Coat the chicken: In a bowl, toss the chicken cubes, flour, and salt together to coat well. Shake off any excess flour before frying.
- Fry the chicken: In a large frying pot, heat 3 inches deep of frying oil on medium-high heat and cook for about 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Line on paper towel to drain excess oil.
- Prepare the sauce: In a cup, mix together all the sauce ingredients except for the vegetable oil. In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil and sauté the garlic and chili flakes together for about 30 seconds.
- Simmer: Add in the sauce and simmer on medium-low heat to cook the sauce until it thickens. Mix periodically so the sauce doesn’t stick or clump up.
- Coat the chicken with sauce: Once the sauce simmers and thickens up, add in the chicken to coat well with the sauce. Add in the dry chili peppers and green onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes and remove from the heat. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.
Recipe Variations
- Chicken: you are welcomed to swap the chicken tenderloin for chicken thighs or breasts if you’d prefer.
- Go Chu Jang: if you cannot find go chu jang sauce, you can substitute with sriracha sauce.
- Make it more spicy: if you want it more spicy, you can add more chili flakes.
Tips and Notes
- Do not over cook the chicken or else it will become chewy. 3 to 4 minutes at the most as they’re diced into small bite sized pieces.
- Make sure you shake off the excessive flour before frying or you’ll get a bunch of burnt flour floating around in the oil, adding in a burnt flavor to the oil!
- Heat oil to medium-high heat, not high heat or temperature at around 380F for the chicken to fully cook and brown fast at the same time. Too high and the outside will burn while the inside isn’t cooked through.
- Avoid adding too much chicken into the oil as once as pieces will end up clumping together.
- A Dutch oven is great for frying this General Tso’s chicken as it holds the oil’s temperature well.
- Taste to adjust the salt before adding in the chicken to the sauce.
FAQs
Peanut oil, vegetable oil, and canola oil are ideal for frying food because of their high smoke points. You don’t want to use an oil that has a low smoke point as it’ll overheat.
This crispy General Tso’s chicken recipe is best to be eaten immediately as the sauce gets absorbed into the chicken’s coating and will lose its crispness over time. While leftovers will taste great, the chicken won’t have the same crunch to them.
Store any leftover chicken in airtight containers in the fridge and eat the rest as soon as you can. When reheating, you can help crisp it back up if you place it in the toaster oven or air fryer.
What Can I Serve With General Tso’s Chicken?
This chicken recipe is great with white or brown rice, you can also amp it up further with all kinds of yummy sides, here’s some ideas:
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General Tso Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 pounds chicken tenderloins, cubed
- 1 tablespoon corn flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ teaspoon salt
- oil for frying
General Tso Sauce
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 – 4 tablespoons gochujang chili sauce
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Spanish paprika, optional for color
For Sautéing
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon hot chili oil with chili crisp
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the Garnish
- 4 – 6 whole dried chili pepper pods, seeds removed and cut into smaller pieces
- 4 stalks green onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, for garnishing
Instructions
Prepare and Fry the Chicken
- In a bowl, combine the corn flour, all-purpose flour, paprika, black pepper, and salt. Add the chicken cubes and toss until evenly coated with the flour mixture. Shake off any excess coating before frying.
- Heat 3 inches of frying oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken for about 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cook in two batches if needed to avoid overcrowding the pot. Transfer the fried chicken to a paper towel-lined sheet pan to drain the excess oil.
Make the General Tso Sauce
- While the chicken cooks, combine the chicken broth, gochujang, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, ginger, rice vinegar, cornstarch, and optional Spanish paprika in a measuring cup. Mix well.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and hot chili oil with chili crisp. Sauté for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Stir the prepared sauce mixture, then pour it into the skillet with the garlic and chili crisp. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens, stirring periodically to prevent sticking or clumping.
- Add the fried chicken, dried chili peppers, and green onions to the thickened sauce. Toss until the chicken is coated, then cook for 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat and garnish with sesame seeds.
- Serve the General Tso chicken warm.
Video
Notes and Recipe Tips
- The small chicken pieces cook quickly. Avoid frying them for longer than 3 to 4 minutes because overcooking can make the chicken chewy.
- Keep the frying oil around 380°F. Oil that gets too hot can brown or burn the outside before the chicken cooks through.
- A Dutch oven works well for frying because it holds the oil temperature well.
- Taste the sauce and adjust the salt before adding the fried chicken.
I love this dish it’s easy and fast to Prepare
Hi James,
Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe.