General Tso’s Chicken

For the chicken:
3 pounds dark/white chicken meant cut into 1-1/2″ chunks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 egg
oil for frying

For the sauce:
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger root, minced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine
1 1/2 cups hot water
2 teaspoons oil
2 cups scallions, chopped
10-15 dried thai or cayenne peppers

For the sauce, mix together 1/2 cup of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, 1/2 cup soy sauce, rice wine and the hot water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until needed.

In a separate bowl, mix together 1/4 cup cornstarch and white pepper. Lightly beat the egg and it and the soy sauce to the cornstarch. Mix well. Add in chicken pieces in layers and flip to coat.

Heat oil to 350° F and fry small quantities (one layer in your frying vessel) for 5-7 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Check one piece before removing the rest. Set chicken aside.

In a wok heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add in scallions. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add in sauce and hot peppers and cook for 5-10 minutes until sauce begins to thicken. Add in chicken and cook until sauce thickens and coats the chicken. Serve over steamed rice.


Makes 5-6 servings.