Skip the takeout and make this General Tso Chicken recipe at home! It’s easy to make and full of flavor. Serve over rice or noodles for a family dinner.
We live in what is considered the exburbs or the area outside the suburbs. Although we do our shopping in the suburbs, when it comes to things like getting take-out on a weeknight the options are very limited in our small town.
It’s much faster to make dinner at home than it is to get take-out. This General Tso Chicken recipe is the perfect example of how easy it is to make a delicious meal at home in less time than it would take to drive to an Asian restaurant, wait for your order, and then drive back home again!
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Where is the General Tso Chicken recipe? In this post, I will share step-by-step instructions with photos for how to make the chicken, as well as answering FAQs about the recipe and sharing a short video showing the recipe in motion. But you can go directly to the recipe by scrolling down to the bottom of the post.
How To Make General Tso Chicken
Step One: Marinade
Start by making a marinade for the chicken. The soy sauce and sesame oil in the marinade help flavor the chicken while the egg white and cornstarch provide the coating for the fried chicken.
Step Two: Chicken
Next, cut up the chicken and add it to the marinade. I used one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe but one pound of chicken thighs would work too.
Try to cut the chicken into even sized pieces so that it will finish cooking around the same time as the rest of the pieces.
Step Three: Sauce
While the chicken is marinating, make the sauce. Start by whisking together the chicken broth, dark brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, hoisin sauce, and sriracha sauce in a small bowl. Slowly add the cornstarch while whisking. Set it aside for a few minutes.
Heat a little oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and then add minced ginger and minced garlic. Cook for about one minute and then add the sauce you just mixed up. Cook and stir until thickened. Keep the sauce warm over low heat.
Step Four: Fried Chicken
Now it’s time to fry the chicken! Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a slotted spoon to carefully add the coated chicken to the hot oil in the pan.
Allow the chicken to cook for a couple of minutes before turning it. Cook the chicken, turning occasionally, until all sides are golden and the chicken is fully cooked, about 5-7 minutes.
Step Five: Veggies
I like to make our General Tso Chicken with a few veggies like one of our favorite take-out places does. Stir fry sliced carrots and red bell peppers for a couple of minutes before adding a few dried chili peppers.
Step Six: Combine
Finally, add the general tso sauce and the cooked chicken to the veggies in the pan and stir to coat everything with the sauce.
Top with sliced green onions and serve immediately.
General Tso Chicken Recipe FAQs
1) Should I use chicken thighs or chicken breasts to make General Tso Chicken? You can use either one. I prefer using chicken breasts when cooking chicken. Others prefer chicken thighs. Chicken thighs have more fat in them and could therefore help the chicken stay more moist if that is a concern of yours.
2) How spicy is General Tso Chicken? The great thing about making it yourself is that you can make it as spicy or as mild as you want!
3) Do I have to add the chili peppers and where can I buy them? No, you do not have to add them. I found them at a small local grocery store but they are also available online.
4) Can I make this without the veggies? Yes, you can just skip that step. Once the chicken has finished cooking, add it to the sauce, and stir to coat.
Want More Asian Cuisine? Try These Recipes Next:
Orange Chicken: This 30-minute skillet recipe for orange chicken is easy to make and so delicious! It’s an easy dinner recipe that your whole family will love.
Honey Garlic Chicken: This Honey Garlic Chicken recipe is so easy to prepare and will be a family favorite! Made with chicken breasts and a four ingredient honey garlic sauce. Add cut up broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, carrots or peas for honey garlic chicken stir fry.
Stir Fry Sauce: This stir fry sauce recipe can be used for vegetables, chicken, beef, shrimp, and pork. It is super easy to make and totally adaptable. Store in the fridge or freezer for later!
Beef and Broccoli: This beef and broccoli recipe is easy to make and more delicious than Chinese take out. It’s a family friendly 30 minute meal everyone will love.
General Tso Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 1/4 cup olive oil for frying
Marinade
- 1 large egg white
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
General Tso Sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoon dark brown sugar (or substitute brown sugar)
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (use 1-3 teaspoon depending on how spicy you want it to be)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Veggies
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 cup sliced carrots
- 1/4 cup sliced red bell peppers
- 5 dried chili peppers
- 2 green onions sliced
Instructions
- Whisk together the egg white, water, soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Add the cubed chicken and stir to coat. Marinate for 15-20 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinating, make the sauce. whisk together the chicken broth, dark brown sugar, soy sauce, white vinegar, hoisin sauce, and sriracha sauce. Slowly add the cornstarch while whisking.
- Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high. Add the minced ginger and minced garlic. Cook for about one minute. Whisk in the chicken broth mixture. Cook until thickened, stirring often. Keep the sauce warm over low heat while cooking the chicken.
- Heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large skillet. Carefully add the chicken with a slotted spoon. Allow the chicken to fry for several minutes before turning. Fry the chicken for 5-7 minutes, turning occasionally, until fully cooked. Remove from pan.
- Heat one tablespoon of olive in the same skillet. Add the sliced carrots and red bell peppers. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the chili peppers. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add the sauce and then the chicken. Stir to coat. Garnish with green onions and serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Khadija says
Turned out amazing !!!