General Tso’s Chicken

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General Tso’s Chicken with a pop of orange zest and spicy habanero added to a tasty glaze over crispy fried tempura chicken.

This is one of those meals we all love, but it takes a little bit of time to make an extra-large batch so we don’t have it often enough. We like to eat it with our fried rice recipe.

Ingredients for General Tso’s Chicken

• Chicken Breast, diced
• Cornstarch
• Large Eggs
• Canola Oil
• Salt
• Soy Sauce
• White Sugar
• Peanut Oil
• Chicken Broth
• Rice Vinegar
• Habaneros
• Orange Zest or Orange Peel
• Ground Ginger
• Garlic
• Canola Oil
• Cornstarch
• Cold Water

We use habaneros to add a little heat and the great thing about them is you can range the spiciness with them.

If you want mild heat, leave the habaneros whole. If you want hot, cut the habaneros in half. The inside lining of the is where the spiciness lies.

How to Cook General Tso’s Chicken

• After coating your chicken in the tempura batter, work in SMALL batches as you place it in the fryer. Fryer works better than a large pan of oil.

• The tempura batter sticks. I mean, really sticks. The way around this is to spray Pam or whatever cooking spray you use, all over the inside of the fryer basket and on the bottom before adding more chicken. Do this in between each batch too.

• I also make sure to break up the chicken as soon as it hits the oil. Otherwise, it likes to stay in a clump on the basket at the bottom.

• It’s important to keep stirring periodically to get the chicken cooked evenly.

The chicken turns out golden and crispy after 4-5 minutes.

The Sauce

• While I’m frying the chicken I get the sauce going in a wok. You want to let the wok get hot first with a teaspoon of oil.

• I start by placing the garlic, habaneros, and orange peels in the bottom of the wok. Then I add in the remaining ingredients, saving the cornstarch thickener for last after the sauce is boiling.

• After the sauce is thickened, add your tempura chicken and stir to coat it. We often leave some crispy tempura chicken plain and eat it like nuggets. The kids definitely like that!

Try these other great Asian cuisines:

• Instant Pot Ginger Pepper Steak
• Instant Pot Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs
• Ginger Sauce
• Peking Egg Rolls
• Sweet and Spicy Tempura Chicken
• Teppanyaki Fried Rice

Enjoy!

General Tso’s Chicken

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Recipe by Simply HappeningsCourse: MainCuisine: American

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

A pop of orange zest and spicy habanero added to a tasty glaze over crispy fried tempura chicken.

Ingredients

• Chicken & Batter

• 1 lb Chicken Breast, diced

• 1 cup Cornstarch

• 2 Large Eggs

• Canola Oil, for frying

• Salt to taste

• Sauce

• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce

• 1/2 cup White Sugar

• 1/4 cup Peanut Oil

• 1/2 cup Chicken Broth

• 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar

• 2 Whole Habaneros, or Slice in half for more spice

• 2 tsp Orange Zest or 2 Slices of Orange Peel

• 1 tsp Ground Ginger

• 2 tsp Garlic, minced

• 1 tsp Canola Oil

• Sauce Thickener

• 2 tsp Cornstarch

• 2 tsp Cold Water

Directions

• Preheat canola oil in deep-fryer set to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Scramble egg with 1 cup cornstarch to make the batter. Add diced chicken and coat.
• Working in batches, add chicken to oil. Cook for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Once cooked, place on a towel-lined plate and season with salt.
• In a wok, add 1 teaspoon of canola oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, whole habaneros, and orange zest and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, peanut oil, and ground ginger. Bring to a boil.
  Note: If looking for more spice, slice open habaneros prior to adding to the sauce.
• Add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to a small bowl and add 2 teaspoons cold water. Stir to dissolve cornstarch and add to boiling sauce. Stir as sauce thickens and reduce heat.
• Add chicken to the sauce and stir to coat. Serve with rice.

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