General Tso's Chicken

It is said to originate from Hunan province of China and is named after a well-respected Chinese military, General Tso. While the accuracy if either of these statements is questionable- and in fact, rumour has it that it was brought into US by Taiwanese chefs!

General Tso's Chicken is saucy, juicy and crispy. The signature sauce is thick and loaded with flavour. If you are a die-hard orange chicken fan, you must try this dish! Make it all in one dish in the comfort of your home for a sweet and spicy treat! I like to add crunchy broccoli to this dish.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 450-500g chicken thighs, breast or mini fillet, cut into bite pieces
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1tbsp water
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp white ground pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• ¼ cup corn flour

For the General Tso's sauce:

• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3½ tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp rice wine vinegar

Stir fry sauce & garnish:

• 2-3 cups broccoli florets
• cooking oil, enough o deep fry the chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 5-6 dried red chili
• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tbsp corn flour, mixed with 2 tbsp water

Method:

Marinate the chicken pieces in a bowl with Shaoxing wine, water, salt, white pepper and sesame oil. Mix until the chicken absorbs all the liquid. Next, add the toasted sesame seeds, plain flour and corn flour. Stir to coat, and set aside.

Make the sauce mixture by combining the chicken stock, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, brown sugar and rice wine in a bowl. Set aside.

Boil enough water to blanch the broccoli for 30-60 seconds, depending on whether you like the broccoli soft or crunchy. Drain and set aside. To keep it super green, you can also transfer the broccoli to an ice bath and then drain and set aside.

Heat the frying oil in a small but deep pot. Make sure the oil is hot enough for frying by sticking the end of a wooden spoon or a wooden chopstick into the oil. If you see many bubbles form around the wood and they start to float up, your oil is ready for frying.

Carefully drop the chicken pieces into the oil in small batches. Make sure the batter/sesame seeds have really coated all the sides of the chicken before frying. The chicken should have float at the top of the oil. Fry until light golden brown  and transfer to a wire rack to drain.

Once all the chicken has been fried once, fry the chicken a second time for 3-5 minutes until crispy. Be careful not to burn it.

Heat a clean wok over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of oil along with dried chilies. Cook the chilies for about 10 seconds. Add the minced garlic and Shaoxing wine.

Next, add the General Tso's Chicken sauce you prepared. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and then stir in the corn flour mixture until the sauce thickens to a glossy sauce. Add the chicken and broccoli, and toss until everything is coated in the sauce. Plate and serve immediately with steamed rice!

Enjoy!