General Tso's Chicken
4 portions
40mIt's actually better than takeout. And easy once you understand the process. The recipe really revolves around a 50/50 cornstarch/flour dredge. Marinating the chicken in alcohol contributes a little flavor, but it also evaporates quickly during frying to yield a crispy shell. Once you nail the chicken, the sauce is primarily just shaoxing and sugar flavored mostly with ginger and chilies and thickened with cornstarch.
What you will need
1 lb (500 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced
MARINADE
1 egg white
2 Tbsp (30 ml) vodka
2 Tbsp (30 ml) shaoxing wine
2 Tbsp (30 ml) soy sauce
3 Tbsp (30 g) cornstarch
1/4 tsp (2 g) baking soda
a pinch of salt
DREDGE
1/2 cup (64 g) corn starch
1/2 cup (64 g) flour
1/2 tsp (2 g) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2.5 g) salt
SAUCE
1 Tbsp (15 ml) sesame oil
1 tsp (3 g) garlic, crushed
1 tsp (2 g) ginger, grated
3 scallions, sliced to 1" lengths
½ cup (120 ml) shaoxing wine
½ cup (120 ml) rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp (30 ml) chicken broth
2 Tbsp (24 g) sugar
TO FINISH
1 Tbsp (7 g) corn starch (for a slurry)
4 Tbsp (60 ml) water (for a slurry)
30 oz (1 L) oil for frying
(Nutritional facts 467 calories, 44.23 g fat, 9.56 g carbohydrates, 7.83 g protein, 28 mg cholesterol, 322 mg sodium)How to cook
1
MARINADE
1
Beat the egg whites just until frothy.
2
Whisk in the vodka, shaoxing and soy sauce.
3
Pour off about 1/2 of the marinade to be reserved for the dredge.
4
Whisk in the remaining marinade ingredients, the corn starch, baking soda and salt.
5
Cut the chicken thighs into chunks and add them to the batch of marinade with the corn starch added.
DREDGE
1
Mix together the corn starch, flour, baking powder and salt from the dredge ingredients.
2
Stir that reserved half of the marinade into the dredge and mix it up. This makes the dredge a little clumpy. This chunky dredge is at the heart of how Chinese restaurants get that crunchy crust that holds up well to a thick sauce.
SAUCE
1
Warm some sesame oil in a nonstick skillet and briefly cook the crushed garlic and grated ginger.
2
Toss in the scallions and chilies and sautée briefly.
3
Pour in the shaoxing, the vinegar, soy, the chicken stock and the sugar. Bring to a simmer to pick up the chili flavor and thicken the sauce slightly.
FRY CHICKEN
1
Heat the cooking oil to around 350ºF. I usually like peanut oil for frying chicken, but any vegetable oil with a high smoke point should be fine. Just make sure your oil is suitable for frying.
2
One by one, thoroughly coat each piece of chicken in dredge.
3
And move each piece into the fryer. As you add chicken to the hot oil, the temperature of the oil will drop. Go slowly and try to maintain a good temperature balance around 350ºF.
4
As the pieces of chicken reach a nice, golden brown, transfer them to paper towels or a baking rack to drain excess oil. This should take 3-5 minutes. Crack one of the large ones opened to ensure that it is cooked through.
FINISH
1
Dissolve about 1 Tbsp of corn starch in water to make a slurry. Stir this into the sauce, a little at a time, as it simmers until the sauce is slightly thinner than desired. It will continue to thicken as it sits.
2
Move the fried chicken chunks into the sauce and toss to coat.
3
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