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Close up of a spoonful of crispy general tso chicken.

Easy General Tso's Chicken

5 from 4 votes
Created by Mariam Ezzeddine
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! 
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Dishes
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 6 servings
servings

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 2 lbs. chicken tenderloins cubed
  • 1 tbsps. corn flour
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • ¾ tsp. black pepper freshly cracked
  • ¼ cup flour
  • ⅔ tsp. salt
  • Oil for frying

The Sauce

  • 1 cup chicken broth low sodium
  • 1 tsp chili in oil or more to taste
  • 3-4 tbsps. Go Chu Jang Chili sauce
  • ¼ cup soy sauce low sodium
  • ¼ cup hoisin sauce
  • 3 tbsps. brown sugar
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp. fresh ginger grated
  • 2 tbsps. rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsps. corn starch
  • ½ tps. Spanish paprika optional to add color to the sauce
  • 1 tbsp. vegetable oil to sauté the garlic

Other

  • 4-6 whole dry chili pepper pods seeds removed and cut into smaller pieces
  • 4 stalks green onion sliced into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds for garnishing

Instructions

  • In a bowl, toss the chicken cubes, flour, and salt together to coat well. Shake off any excess flour before frying.
  • 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. Do them in two batches if needed and do not over crowd the pan. Line a sheet pan with paper towel to transfer the fried chicken onto it to drain all excess oils.
  • Prepare the sauce while the chicken is cooking.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Video

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 chicken in as it holds the oil’s temperature well.
  • Taste to adjust the salt before adding in the chicken to the sauce.
 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 314kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 1180mg | Potassium: 717mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 275IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg
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