Time for quick and easy Chinese takeout at home. This lighter version of my favorite Chinese dish with a full-flavored sweet and slightly spicy sticky sauce.
Introduction
I have worked on this General Tso's Chicken recipe for almost a month which is long for me. Most recipes are easy, but the workflow and the taste of model recipes didn't work for me. Ultimately, I used a Martha Stewart recipe as the inspiration and made it lighter and easy for the home kitchen.
👨🍳How to make this recipe
- Trim two chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.
- Coat the chicken with a mixture of egg whites, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Shake off the excess topping before proceeding.
- Brown the chicken in a large skillet or wok in hot oil. Turn occasionally and cook to 165°.
- While cooking the chicken, mix the sauce of Hoisin sauce, ketchup, and other seasonings.
- When the chicken is brown and 165°, remove the chicken from the skillet.
- Add the sauce to the hot pan and cook until thickened while whisking continuously.
- Add the chicken into the sauce and serve.
🐓Ingredients
The Chicken
This is a "lighter" version, so skinless boneless chicken breasts are my choice here, but boneless skinless chicken thighs will work fine. Or chop up some chicken tenders.
If you use thighs, the cooking temperature should be 180°-185° instead of 165°. This is a texture suggestion. Thighs are safe at 165°, but you will like the texture much better at 180°.
Coating ingredients
The chicken is coated with egg white, corn starch, salt, and pepper, then pan-fried. So healthier than deep-frying and more manageable at home. If you don't care about the fat, use the whole egg instead of two egg whites.
Sauce ingredients
The sauce is flavored with brown sugar, Hoisin sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, dry ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes.
The Hoisin sauce provides vinegar flavor for this dish, but you may want to add a small amount of rice wine vinegar. Likewise, garlic is in the Hoisin but add more if you wish.
Dry ginger is used, but many recipes call for fresh ginger, which I don't usually have on hand. Use 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger for each ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger.
The red pepper flakes are "to taste." ¼ teaspoon has minimal heat (1/10) but some pleasant taste. ½ teaspoon is about what you would typically have in a restaurant (3/10), but 1 teaspoon is more for the heat lover (7/10).
Brown sugar adds sweetness to the sauce, but it can be cut in half without much effect.
🇨🇳What is General Tso's Chicken
General Tso's chicken is generally a sweet and somewhat spicy deep-fried chicken dish served in most North American Chinese restaurants.
Although it is probably some basis in standard Chinese fare, it is not a traditional Chinese dish. Most likely, what we now know as General Tso’s Chicken originated in New York City in the 1970s, but there are many conflicting claims about who and where.
Wherever it started, it is now standard fare in almost every North American Chinese restaurant—and has always been one of the most popular dishes.
❓FAQs
You can find a few suggestions, but there is no great substitute in reality. There are many components that make this a unique sauce, and you will not get the desired results with substitutes. Hoisin is commonly available in most markets and is worth buying for this recipe.
The red pepper flakes are "to taste." ¼ teaspoon has minimal heat (1/10) but some pleasant taste. ½ teaspoon is about what you would typically have in a restaurant (3/10), but 1 teaspoon is more for the heat lover (7/10).
Dried Chinese chilies can be used, like Tien Tsin peppers, but be careful since they can be very hot.
Several hints: first, dry the chicken as much as possible with paper towels before coating. Second, let the coating set on the chicken for 5-10 minutes before cooking. Third, flip gently in the skillet with a fork. And lastly, you can cook the chicken in several batches to not crowd the pan.
🍽️Serving and Storage
Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and slices of green onions. Sided dishes of rice and steamed vegetables should be added to complete the meal.
Store leftovers sealed airtight for four days. I don't expect this to freeze well.
📖Chinese Recipes
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
The only "special" thing is Hoisin sauce. I'm now going to stock it in my refrigerator.
Start by patting dry and trimming two skinless boneless chicken breasts. Then cube into about 1-inch pieces.
Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet or a wok. Whisk together 2 egg whites or one whole egg, corn starch, salt, and pepper.
Dry the chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Add chicken to the egg mixture and stir to coat.
Shake excess coating off the chicken and add one piece at a time to the hot oil. You can be a perfectionist and half-turning them nicely for 8 to 10 minutes and repeat. OR put them all in and occasionally stir like lazy me for about 12-14 minutes. Be sure the internal temp gets to 165° by checking multiple pieces. Use 180° as your endpoint if using thighs.
While the chicken is cooking, start the sauce — Whisk corn starch into ½ cup of water. Then add brown sugar, Hoisin sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, dry ginger, and crushed red pepper.
When the chicken is done, transfer to a bowl and decrease the heat to medium-low. Add the sauce and whisk continuously while boiling until well thickened 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken back into the sauce and stir to coat.
Transfer to the serving dish. Garnish with the toasted sesame seeds and slices of green onion. Serve with sides of rice and steamed vegetables.
📝Recipe
Easy General Tso Chicken in 30 Minutes
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts - about 10-12 oz. each.
- 2 teaspoons oil
Coating
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 egg whites - or one egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoons pepper
Sauce
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar - or less
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- ¼ teaspoon dry ginger
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper - See recipe notes below
Serving options
- toasted sesame seeds
- sliced green onion
- cooked rice
- steamed vegetables
Instructions
- Start by patting dry and trimming two skinless boneless chicken breasts. Then cube into about 1-inch pieces.
- Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet or a wok. Whisk together 2 egg whites or one whole egg, corn starch, salt, and pepper.
- Dry the chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Add chicken to the egg mixture and stir to coat.
- Shake excess coating off the chicken and add one piece at a time to the hot oil. You can be a perfectionist and half-turning them nicely for 8 to 10 minutes and repeat. OR put them all in and occasionally stir like lazy me for about 12-14 minutes. Be sure the internal temp gets to 165° by checking multiple pieces. Use 180° as your endpoint if using thighs.
- While the chicken is cooking, start the sauce — Whisk corn starch into ½ cup of water. Then add brown sugar, Hoisin sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, dry ginger, and crushed red pepper.
- When the chicken is done, transfer to a bowl and decrease the heat to medium-low. Add the sauce and whisk continuously while boiling until well thickened 2-3 minutes.
- Add the sauce and whisk continuously while boiling until well thickened 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chicken back into the sauce and stir to coat.
- Transfer to the serving dish and top with the toasted sesame seeds. Garnish with slices of green onion and sides of rice and steamed vegetables.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- You can use chicken thighs. I feel you should cook to 180° for thighs for better texture. They are safe at 165°.
- The Hoisin sauce is needed, and I would not skip it.
- The sweetness is on the high side. Decrease the brown sugar if you want.
- I used two egg whites to make this "lighter" but use one whole egg if you want.
- The red pepper is "to taste". ¼ teaspoon has minimal heat (1/10) but some nice taste. ½ teaspoon is about what you would normally have in a restaurant (3/10), but 1 teaspoon is more for the heat lover (7/10).
- To decrease the sodium, cut out the salt and use low sodium soy sauce.
- Good refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. I don't see this freezing well.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Editor's Note: Originally Published October 17, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Originally Published October 17, 2012.
Jennie
I made this for supper last night. I'd been marinating chicken in buttermilk w/garlic and trying to decide which recipe to use it in. I opted for this and everyone loved it! I added half a zucchini matchsticked and three green onions, chopped, used 1/4 c brown sugar, added a little sesame oil and some garlic powder and served It over fresh pasta. It was excellent and easy. I'll be making it again! Thanks for another great recipe. 😃
Carolyn S.
This is an old recipe, BAF - Before Air Fryers. A lot of us have them now. Can you update it to include that option?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Carolyn,
I have seen air fryer versions but I don't see that as a good option here. You could cook the chicken in the air fryer but you need to sauce. To me, an air fryer is an oven and making this in an oven would be harder not easier.
Dan