General Tso’s Chicken

For those of you who read Carrie’s blog over at Ginger Lemon Girl, you saw this recipe and photo.  But I promised her that I would post the recipe with step-by-step photos and more detailed instructions.

So here you are.  I usually cut the original recipe in half.  It calls for 3 pounds of chicken; a pack from the store is usually 1 1/2 pounds, and that’s a good amount for us for dinner plus lunch the next day.  I just have to halve the sauce recipe.

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cornstarch
2 cups green onions, sliced
8 small dried chilies, seeds removed (chili pepuin, bird’s eye, etc.)  (Adjust the amount depending on taste and heat of the type of chili used.  And be careful handling the chilies - use gloves and do not touch the seeds with your hands.  I learned this the hard way.)

Sauce:

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sherry or white wine
14 1/2 ounces chicken broth (equals one can)

Place all sauce ingredients into a jar with a lid and shake to mix. 

Refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it.

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Directions:

1.  Mix soy sauce, egg and cornstarch well and add chicken, tossing to coat.

    

    

    

2.  Deep fry chicken, 7 to 8 pieces at a time in hot (350 degree) oil unti crispy.  (I do this in the wok in about an inch to 2 inches of oil.)  Drain on paper towels.  Repeat until all chicken is cooked.

3.  Place a small amount of oil in a wok or large skillet and heat to 400 degrees.  (I just guess on the degrees.)

4.  Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry for about 30 seconds.

    

   

    

5.  Stir sauce and add to pan with onions and peppers, cooking until thick.  If the sauce gets too thick, simply add a little water.

   

    

6.  Add the chicken to the sauce in the wok and cook until it is hot and bubbly.  If desired, add vegetables at same time as you add chicken.

    

    

7.  Serve over rice.

  

  

  

Note:  You can make this recipe a little healthier by not frying the chicken.  The sauce is really what’s important.  (Although frying it does make it seem a little more like what I remember from Chinese restaurants.)