General Tso
The man himself

General Tso's Chicken

According to this article, General Tso Tsungtang was a ruthless war monger who led men into battle in mainland China in the 1800's.   No one is exactly sure how his name got tied to the delicious chicken dish that he will ever be tied to in history, seeing as General Tso's Chicken in its modern sense was in all likelihood invented in New York City in the 1970's.   This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes and I tried one night to make it myself, with surprisingly good results.

Prep time:  30 minutes
Cook time:  40 minutes

Ingredients:
Sauce:
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger OR 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Japanese soy sauce
1 cup (1/2 can) low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons dry sherry
3 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
          10 small whole dried red chilies
         
Meat:
1 1/2 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into chucks
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
Peanut or vegetable oil for deep frying



  general_tsos

Directions:

For Meat:   Mix chicken, sherry, soy sauce and egg in a large bowl with your hands, making sure to coat chicken evenly. Add cornstarch gradually and mix until chicken is evenly covered.  For best results, do this at least one hour before cooking and refrigerate the chicken on a wire rack inside the refrigerator, making sure to space the pieces of chicken apart from each other.  Cover with plastic wrap.

For Sauce:  Mix cornstarch and water in a medium bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Fill medium pan half way with oil and heat to 400 degrees.  In small batches at time, deep fry chicken pieces until the coating sets, about 30 seconds. Using a wire-mesh skimmer, remove the chicken and count to 10. Return the chicken to the oil and cook until golden, about 15 seconds. Remove from the oil, count to 10, and deep-fry a third time until the coating is crisp and golden brown, about 1 minute.  Drain on paper towel.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in large skillet or wok. Add chilies and stir fry about 30 seconds (the longer you fry the chilies, the hotter the dish will be). Re-stir the sauce mixture and add it to the skillet, cook and stir until thick. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat them with the sauce.  Transfer the chicken onto a baking sheet covered in tinfoil and bake for 10 mins to caramelize the sauce (optional).

Serve with rice and steamed vegetables.   Enjoy!

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