General Tso’s Chicken - Skirt in the Kitchen

General Tso’s Chicken ~

~ adapted from Appetite for China ~

“General Tso’s Chicken became popular in America via some enterprisingly Taiwanese chefs who opened Hunan restaurants in New York in the 1970s. Hunan cuisine is traditionally very spicy, full of smoky chilis and pickled vegetables. But to appeal to American diners, the chefs started deep-frying, and sweetening the sauces.”

This is just one of many versions of making General Tso’s Chicken. Adjust it to your personal liking; give it the combination of spicy-sweet-sour, adding or deleting, just to get it the way you want it to be.

This recipe serves 4 as part of a multi-course meal but I like to quadruple it, giving me plenty of leftovers for the next day for several people. So instead of 1 pound of chicken thighs, fat trimmed off, I weigh 4 pounds– quadrupling everything. The chicken thighs are very tender in this recipe.

To prepare the marinade for the chicken thighs, in a large bowl, combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry and 2 egg whites. Coat the chicken to marinate and set aside while you prepare the remainder of this recipe. Choose thighs to use, not breasts; you will have moist, tender pieces cut into bite-size chunks, making sure all fat is trimmed– This will take a while.

Next, prepare the sauce– In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup chicken broth, 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce, 1 teaspoon chili paste, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon cornstarch.

You might want to add a little honey and a small amount of minced ginger. Taste the sauce and adjust before and after adding.

For the chicken coating, whisk together 1 1/2 cups cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. You can also use tapioca flour instead of cornstarch or the full amount; I tend to do that, same effect. Coat the chicken and shake off any excess for frying. I prefer a ziplock bag to do this.

(Good products. Make sure that your sesame seed oil is not old, has not been setting in the refrigerator too long– )

In a large wok, heat 3 cups peanut oil or vegetable oil to register on an instant-read oil thermometer 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Work in batches. It will only take 4 to 5 minutes to fry each batch. When through frying, drain the oil in a heat-proof container for discarding. Wipe out the wok with a paper towel, do not wash, you will need to heat 1 tablespoon new oil, coating it (turning the wok) to cover all sides as well as the bottom.

Add 8 dried whole red chilis to the wok or substitute with red pepper flakes, but try to have the whole chilis for this– (These happen to be what my daughter and I strung on string last summer to dry all year long, storing them in canning jars once dried. We grow our own peppers to dry as well as can them into pickled peppers, but I have them on hand instead of having to make a run to the store to purchase dried peppers for my hot, spicy foods– even if I want to bake with them.)

Mince 2 cloves garlic to stir-fry quickly with the dried red chilis. (If not raising your own garlic, purchase them from a local farmer in your area to obtain large sizes– much larger, richer and better in flavor, much better than store-bought, so worth it.)

Don’t forget to put on the rice! And please don’t burn it or forget about it, as I happen to do on occasion!– many a time…

Yes, my husband helped me cook, can you tell… !

Only stir-fry for 20 seconds.

Now add the sauce mixture to the dried peppers and garlic. Stir until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.

(He’s got the sexiest hands… I’m also lucky for THAT– ! Lol… Oh, what the heck… (Can I still say that word: sexy??!))

Now is when you might want to taste the sauce and check it for the amount of heat that you want for spiciness– As you see, we added more heat to our sauce.