General Tso’s Chicken
2 min readTo make this dish, which rivals your favorite take-out version, you’ll want to have a candy or oil thermometer so you can regulate the temperature of the oil in your wok.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 pound dark chicken meat
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry, divided
1 ⁄8 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 ⁄2 teaspoon sesame oil
6 dried red chilies
4–6 cups oil for deep-frying
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1. Cut the chicken into cubes. Mix in the soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of the rice wine, white pepper, and the cornstarch, adding the cornstarch last. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes.
2. Combine the dark soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon rice wine. Set aside. Cut the red chilies in half and remove the seeds. Chop and set aside.
3. Heat the oil to 350°F. When the oil is hot, add the chicken cubes and deep-fry until they are lightly browned. Remove from the wok and drain on paper towels.
4. Raise the temperature of the wok to 400°F. Deep-fry the chicken a second time briefly, until the chicken turns golden brown. Remove from the wok and drain on paper towels. 5. Drain the wok, leaving 2 tablespoons of oil for stir-frying. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, ginger, and green onions. Stir-fry briefly until aromatic. Add the chilies and cookfor 1 minute. Add the sauce in the middle of the wok and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and mix through.
Food Fit for a General
General Tso’s Chicken is named after a famous military leader who helped quash China’s Taipeng rebellion in the mid-1800s. How the dish came to be named after General Tso is lost to history, although he was rumored to have a penchant for fiery foods.