General Tso Chicken Recipe

This General Tso Chicken Recipe is a great combination of sweet, spicy, and savory. Ready in 30 minutes, this healthy alternative to takeout only has 269 calories and 4 grams of fat per serving.

Jump To:

• 👍Why you should try this recipe
• 🐓Ingredients
• 👨‍🍳How to Make General Tso Chicken
• ✔️Tips
• 🇨🇳What is General Tso Chicken
• ❓FAQs
• 🍽️Serving and Storage
• 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
• Recipe

👍Why you should try this recipe

• This version is lighter and healthier but has the same great taste as the full-fat version.
• It uses stovetop pan frying instead of deep frying, making it home cooking friendly and healthier.
• It fits low-calorie and low-fat diets. And it can be adapted to be gluten-free (see FAQs).
• You can have the great taste of Chinese takeout at home in only 30 minutes.

Adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe as the inspiration and made lighter and easy for the home kitchen.

For other easy Chinese takeout at home, try these easy recipes Chicken Stir Fry, Crock Pot Cashew Chicken, or Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli.

🐓Ingredients

• Chicken—usually skinless boneless chicken breasts
• Coating Ingredients—corn starch, egg, salt, pepper
• General Tso Sauce Ingredients—corn starch, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, dry ginger, crushed red pepper
• Serving—toasted sesame seeds, sliced green onion, cooked rice.steamed vegetables

✔️Tips

• The Chicken and Coating
  • Skinless boneless chicken breasts are usually used, 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 180-185°.
  • You can use a whole egg instead of two whites. The whites are used to continue the "lighter" theme by decreasing the fat.
• The General Tso's Sticky Sauce
  • The Hoisin sauce provides a 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. 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 can be cut in half without much effect.

🇨🇳What is General Tso Chicken

General Tso 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

🍽️Serving and Storage

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and slices of green onions. For rice, try Cooking Rice in the Oven or Fried Rice in 10 Minutes. Serve with steamed vegetables to complete the meal.

Store leftovers sealed airtight for four days. It will not freeze well.

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Start by trimming two skinless boneless chicken breasts, then cube it into about 1-inch pieces—pat dry with paper towels.

Whisk together 2 egg whites or one whole egg, cornstarch, salt, and pepper.

Add chicken to the egg mixture and stir to coat. Shake the excess coating and let set for 5 minutes if you have the time to help the coating adhere better. Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet or a wok.

Add the chicken 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 185° as your endpoint if using thighs.

While the chicken is cooking, start the sauce — Whisk cornstarch 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 it 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

Editor's Note: Originally Published October 17, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.