General Tso’s Chicken with Glossy Sweet-Spicy Sauce
By Lucas Morgan
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Total
25 min
Servings
8
Level
Easy
Precooking the breaded chicken keeps it crispy when it is cooked further with other ingredients․ Breaded chicken nuggets in this General Tso's Chicken recipe were glazed with a shiny, sweet, and mildly spicy sauce made from soy sauce and vinegar․
The breading recipe calls for diced chicken breasts, all-purpose flour, paprika, garlic salt, and cornstarch as an alternative to all-purpose flour․ The sauce recipe calls for sugar, water, distilled white vinegar, salt, soy sauce, and optional red chili pepper flakes․ Diced chicken breasts are fried in batches to help browning of the breading, then returned to the pan to cook in the sauce, stirring occasionally to heat thoroughly․
When the sauce is boiling, indications that the chicken is done include fewer pieces of chicken having bits of sauce on them․ To increase sauce adherence to the chicken, boil the dish uncovered for 12 minutes․ A common issue people have with this recipe is that the chicken is served too soon, before the sauce has reduced enough․ Unlike other recipes, this one does not call for a cornstarch solution to help the sauce adhere to the chicken․ Reduction helps the sauce adhere to the chicken․
Serve with steamed rice or broccoli or on top of Chicken Lo Mein․ Steam broccoli florets in a colander over the simmering pot for 7 minutes․ Toppings for Chicken Lo Mein include sesame seeds and green onions․ Other side dishes include grilled onions and sweet peppers․
Why you'll love this recipe
- Cooking coated chicken without sauce helps a flour coating become hard and brown so the chicken doesn't mix with the sauce․
- Simmering the uncovered sugar, vinegar, water, and soy sauce mixture allows it to thicken slightly to create a shiny glaze without any added thickening ingredients․
- The sauce contains standard ingredients and soy sauce rather than other sauces typically used in takeout dishes․ This recipe is a convenient way to make a takeout-style dish at home․
- Cooking chicken in batches helps ensure that the chicken pieces are cooked through, with a crispy coating instead of steamed coating from cooking too many pieces in the oil at once․
- Optional chili flakes provide heat without explicitly specifying an amount, and the sauce's high sugar content makes the finished dish sweet․
- Steaming broccoli in the pot with the chicken broth saves time by including a vegetable with the main dish while the chicken sauce has time to cook and thicken․
Ingredients
- •4 chicken breasts (cubed)
- •1 cup all-purpose flour (or cornstarch)
- •1 tsp paprika
- •2 tsp garlic salt
- •1 ¼ cup sugar
- •1 cup water
- •1 cup white distilled vinegar
- •1 tsp salt
- •6 Tbsp soy sauce
- •1 tsp red chili pepper flakes (optional)
- •¾ cup oil (for frying)
Instructions
- 1
Coat the chicken pieces in the breading and fry in 3/4 cup of oil. Cook in batches.
- 2
Combine the sauce ingredients and pour over all the fried chicken pieces.
- 3
Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered for 12 minutes or until sauce thickens.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
321
Protein
27g
Fat
3g
Carbs
44g
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