General Tso’s Chicken!
Hi guys!
Today, I’m finally sharing my version of General Tso’s Chicken recipe! 😀 YAY!!
Hope you guys are excited as I am about this recipe!
It is spicy, tangy, slightly sweet and full of flavors!! UMMMMMMM!!!
Honestly, I’ve never had General Tso’s Chicken until I got the recipe requesting from you guys. I heard about this delicious chicken, but I’ve never gave a chance!
But since I had to re-create the recipe, I tried a few different versions from different Chinese restaurants. That’s dedication! hahaha
I came home and tried a couple of times and I finally could create my own recipe!
https://seonkyounglongest.com/vegan-general-tso/
I also have vegan version of this recipe, so check it out!
Here are the ingredients list for the recipe…
Marinade for the Chicken
- 1 lb. boneless & skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 2 tsp. shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
For the Sauce
- 2 Tbs. sugar
- 1 Tbs. sambal
- 1 Tbs. soy sauce
- 3 Tbs. white vinegar
- 2 Tbs. Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp. corn starch
For the Batter
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup corn starch
For Frying & Stir-fry
- frying oil
- 2 tsp. chili oil with chili flakes
- 5 to 6 dried chili
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
I know, I know, I always brag about my food… but, man, this is a real deal Genral Tso’s Chicken! I wish General Tso could come over my house, I would love to serve this to him!!
He would be very proud of this Korean girl!
I hope you guys give this recipe a try and enjoy at home with your family and friends.
So much better than from Chinese restaurants out there, I promise! 😉
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General Tso’s Chicken
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Marinade for the Chicken
- 1 lb. boneless &; skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 2 tsp. shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
For the Sauce
- 2 Tbs. sugar
- 1 Tbs. sambal
- 1 Tbs. soy sauce
- 3 Tbs. white vinegar
- 2 Tbs. Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp. corn starch
For the Batter
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup corn starch
For Frying & Stir-fry
- frying oil
- 2 tsp. chili oil with chili flakes
- 5 to 6 dried chili
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients of marinade for chicken; mix well with your hand and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, combine all ingredients of sauce; whisk until sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
- Pour frying oil into your wok, at least 1-inch deep. (My wok needed about 2 cups, but it’s depending on your wok size.) Heat oil over medium-high heat to 325°F (160°C).
- Meanwhile oil is heating up, add egg and corn starch into marinated chicken to create batter. Mix well with your hand.
- Carefully add half amount of chicken into wok one by one. Make sure the chicken doesn’t stick to each other and not crowed the pot. (You have to do 2 or 3 batches) Fry chicken for 2 to 3 minutes and turn it over, cook 2 more minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and golden. Stir with a spatula as needed. Gently take them out from wok to a plate or wide bowl that lined with paper towels. Repeat with rest of chicken. Set aside.
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- Let it cool completely, so they will be ready to deep fry one more time! This double frying process will make the chicken extremely crunch and last longer.
Now, increase heat to high and bring oil’s temperature to 375°F (190°C)
Deep fry the cooled once-deep fried chicken one more time, about 1 minute. Gently take them out from wok to a plate or wide bowl that lined with paper towels. Repeat with rest of chicken. Set aside.
Pour out oil into a heat proof bowl. If you would like to use this oil again, let them cool while you are cooking and eating and then strain through a paper towel lined strainer so you can reuse it another time. - Wipe your wok with paper towel lightly, inside and out. Add 2 tsp. chili oil with chili flakes, dried chili and chopped garlic into cold wok then heat the wok over medium-high heat. Keep stirring with a spatula until you can smell the fragrance from garlic and chili (Be careful not to burn the garlic bits!), about 45 second to 1 minute.
- Stir the sauce we made earlier and add into the wok. Keep stirring as the sauce gets thicken as syrup and boiling, it takes about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add fried chicken into sauce and toss everything together and let chicken coated with sauce evenly all over, about 30 second. Remove from heat immediately.
- Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy with warm cooked rice or noodles!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
73 comments
Wow must try, it looks so yummy, thanks for the recipes.
It’s my pleasure! 😀
I would like to try it. Some day, for the first time
Want to make this tonight is there any substitute for the wine since it’s available on Amazon?
I found the Shaoxing wine at a couple different Asian grocery stores. I believe that I even found it once at withe a publix or Kroger grocery store. I have a great store that I buy all of my Korean, Chines, Japanese and even Cuban supplies at now….it a wonderful place!! Oh, I forgot it even has American specialty items, it’s an amazing place!!!! 🙂
You can find at Amazon, or your local Asian/Chinese grocery store! 🙂 If it’s hard to find, you can go ahead and use dry sherry, which you can find any regular grocery stores! 😀
The best. I cooked it. Delicious. I want to cook to mr. Tso too! Lol
AWESOME~!! So glad you gave a try and liked it! 😀
Looks great, I know General Tso already, but as you written, it’s a bit different like what you have cooked. BE sure, I will give it a try!
Hope you enjoy as much as we did 😀
I just got finished making this dish and boy is it delicious… My only problem was it was way to spicy wish I knew how to tune it down a bit… But besides will definitely make again just not as spicy.
Wow! I’m so happy to hear the Kenya! Just add less samba(chili sauce) next time and also skip the dried chili. 🙂 That will help!
Thank you so much for this recipe. It turned out GREAT!!! I used Rice Cooking Wine and Chicken thighs. I also added sesame seeds and omitted the peppers. Just enough spice for me!!!!! ? I wish I could post pictures.
AWESOME!!! Please post picture on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SeonkyoungLongest) or tag me on Instagram @Seonkyoung
I would love see the picture too! 😀
Is Sanbal and chile oil with peppers the same thing? They look the same please answer
Sambal is fresh chili paste, and chili oil with chili flakes is dried chili flakes with oil. They are totally 2 different ingredients. 🙂
So chili oil with flakes are bought separately or together?
They make them like that. Please check out the video above the written recipe, where I show the product.
Will be making this for sure! Thank you kindly for the recipe!
Looks fantastic! This is a must try! Thank you
Can I omit the wine? Will it make a difference in taste? It looks so good. I want to make this soon.
The wine makes this dish flavor more authentic, thinking as using red/white wine for French/Italian cooking. If you can find rice wine(Sake) or dry sherry that would work great as well.
Let it cool completely, so they will be ready to deep fry one more time! This double frying process will make the PORK???? extremely crunch and last longer.
lol It was my mistake, I fixed it! 🙂
I made this last night. Was a huge success, much cheaper than take out. And my family loved it!! Thank you!
It’s WIN WIN WIN!!! ❤️
I liked the recipe but it had a bitter “tup tup” Han mat at the end. What did i do wrong? can add more or omit something?? I love the simplicity Of the recipe anf enjoy cooking for my family. Thank you!
It could happen if you didn’t cook the vinegar enough or the type of vinegar you used. Maybe try with different type/brand of vinegar or lemon juice. 🙂 Hope this helped!
I tried this today and hands down the best General tso I ever ate. It’s a bit involved but man this sh!t tastes good. I added gluten free stuff and wallah, GF General tso. Thanks for a banging recipe.
YAY!!! I’m thrilled by your comment!!!
Thank you….thank you. I just made this dish and it was delicious!!! I didn’t have the Chinese wince listed so I used rice wine that I had on hand. It was totally delicious! !!!
I’m super super happy to hear that Kim!!! ❤️
We made this dish last week. Fairly straightforward and well rewarding in the end product. Tastes incredible!
My only complaint is the availability of a few ingredients; I’m hoping to find suitable alternatives tor those hard to find items.
YAY! I’m so happy to hear your kitchen success story!! 😀 I’m sorry that some the ingredients are hard to find, but I believe that authentic food truly needs the authentic ingredients. One of the ways I find the ingredients that are hard to find is I go to the internet (mostly amazon) and get from there. Hope this helped! 😀
Great recipe and energy in your video! Love to watch you cook and enjoy your food. You have a very fortunate husband and family!
Thank you so much for your lovely words!! ❤️
I just tried your recipe for dinner and it is so yummy!!! Thank you for this amazing recipe ^-^
Made this recipe the other night and it was delicious!!! Thank you so much for this yummy recipe. You’re such a wonderful chef. ^-^
I’m so happy to hear that!! 😀 <3
Hi, wat can i use instead of wine as I cant take alcohol. Thank you
You can just leave it out and use water instead.
I’m looking to make this tonight but I don’t know where to purchase the sambal and chili paste with flakes. Do you know if it’s at Walmart or some where like valleys or woodmans ?
You can buy both from regular grocery stores at Asian food section (definitely sambal and chili oil without chili flakes.) or if you have a local Asian market near you, definitely check it out! 🙂
Hi can I use chili oil with out the flakes? Also can I use rice wine? Thanks
Loved it, thanks Seonkyoung..
Guys this recipe is fantastic!!! You must try it!
WOOTWOOT~!❤️
This came out so good. A really easy recipe to follow. My entire family enjoyed it (my husband and 3 kids) My husband is such a picky eater and he loved it. I love Chinese food and am so glad that I have this option to make at home. Way better then take out. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
I’m so happy to hear that Maria!! 😀 Homemade foods are always more clean, fresh and delicious! I’m so glad you gave a try and now you can enjoy delicious Asian food at home!!
This recipe was fantastic! I substituted about 1 tbsp (roughly a heaping teaspoonful, I didn’t measure it out) of chili paste for the dried chilis because I couldn’t find them anywhere and it came out pretty good! I will be making this a lot from now on, I don’t know if I can ever go back to take-out.
WootWoot~! You did amazing job Chris, you can definitely use dried chilies instead chili paste! Homemade is just taste so much fresher, tastier and you know exactly what is in your food! 😀 So happy to hear that you gave a try and you are very happy with the result!!!
Hello Seonkyoung!!! Is there another vinegar i can use besides white vinegar? Thank you!
Rice vinegar will work great too! 🙂
I made this dish the other day and it was delicious. My husband and i were very pleased with the outcome. However since i am pregnant, sambal chili (and many other spices) doesnt agree with my belly and gave severe heartburn. Is there a way i can make this dish a bit more mild? Until I’m able to tolerate more spice. Thank u for your time and your recipes! Xoxo
I’m so happy to hear that Tina!! So sorry too much spicy bothered your body.. BTW congratulations your pregnancy!! You can omit the sambal, dried chili from the recipe. It will be still delicious, because lots of flavor coming form garlic, ginger and the other sauces! 🙂
I have evrything I need to make this but the sambal. Could I use chili garlic sauce in its place. They seem to be similar. I love your site and videos btw!
Yes, you can! Chili garlic sauce is very similar with sambal, so that’s totally fine! 😀 Good luck!!
If I use beef or shrimp instead of chicken, how would the frying time change? Would the frying times be the same as chicken? Have you tried tofu? BTW, this recipe for chicken is our favorite.
Hi Jackie,
For beef, it can be cooked same way. For shrimp, you need fry only 1 to 2 minutes in 350°F (180°C) oil. Actually tofu works great for this recipe! Hope this helps!
Hi Seonkyoung.. I tried this tonight and it is EXCELLENT… I love the tangy zip that the vinegar brings.. It really adds another depth of flavor… I will definitely make this again….I’m thinking about making a triple batch of the sauce and putting it in the refrigerator (I’ll probably leave out the cornstarch until I use the sauce) That way, all I’ll have to do is marinade and fry the chicken… Then add the cornstarch to the sauce and bring it to a boi… This General Tso’s chicken is so good I was making the noises you make when you try out dishes. 🙂
I’m so thrilled to hear that Brad!! Great idea to make the sauces in batches!! When I made extra sauce, I remember my hubby and step-daughter was just eating the sauce with rice! lol
They know what’s yummy lol
Thanks for what you do… I really enjoy your videos.. 🙂 I used you Asain Panty video to stock up my pantry… I really fell in love with the Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp… YUM
Love lao gan ma too! SO GOOD!!
I like it so much I keep back-up jars of it… I think I only have 1 back-up jar right now .. I need to go to the market again 🙂 Yeah that stuff is great… I wish they could also sell JUST the oil from it.. .. Call it… Spicy Chile Crisp Oil..
Hi Seonkyoung, thanks for your wonderful General Tso’s recipe! I’ve been doing it several times and I’m not looking back. You’re the best!
WHOOTWHOOT! Thank you so much Steve! Happy cooking~!
I made this recipe 3 times! Excellent! 1st time took me approx 2 hrs.??? Last time still takes an hour. I do have 2 questions. 1) How long will Shaoxing wine last in the pantry? Mine is almost 9 months old now but still seems to work? 2) What is the difference between Sambai Olek and Pepper Sa-te sauce Tia Chieu Sa-te?
This recipe is amazing. Will it work if I use shrimp instead of chicken
Yes! That would work perfectly fine.
Hello SeonkYoung,
We made this recipe tonight and my very picky husband said it’s delicious! Next time however we need to double the sauce.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
So glad I could help!
4 stars! I cooked it this week and loved it. I had to make change in the last step. I could not get dried chilis or the chili oil because I live in a rural area. I used 1 T of oil and added about 1/2 t of dried chili flakes. I heated this for about 1-2 minutes and added the chopped garlic. I completely left out the dried chilis and it was great. Had enough heat for me. Thanks, I will make this again. It it much better than getting in the restaurant.