General Tso’s Chicken

General Tso’s Chicken is a deep fried, hot and sweet chicken dish that is served in most of the North American Chinese Restaurants.  I saw this recipe in Asian food channel and noted it down on my recipe book and made it now as today is Chinese New Year 🙂

The dish is named after Zuo Zongtang (also romanized Tso Tsung-t’ang), a Qing dynasty statesman and military leader, although there is no recorded connection to him nor is the dish known in Hunan, Zuo’s home province.

(Source: Wikipedia).

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CHICKEN:

300 gms Skinless, boneless Chicken Thighs

2 teaspoons Light soy sauce

2 tablespoons Rice vinegar

1 Egg yolk

1/2 cup Chicken stock

1/2 cup Corn starch

Salt required

Oil for frying

FOR THE SAUCE:

2 Garlic cloves , thinly sliced

4 to 5 Dry red chilly, deseeded

1/4 cup Chicken Stock

1 teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce

1 teaspoon Rice vinegar

1 tablespoon Tomato paste

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoons Corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons Oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a Mixing bowl, add chicken, chicken stock, soy sauce, vinegar, egg yolk, salt and marinate it for 2 hrs.

Coat the marinated chicken with cornstarch and deep dry it over medium heat, until it turns brown.

Remove chicken from oil and set aside to drain on paper towels.

Heat oil in a large pan and fry sliced garlic until it releases aroma. Then add in dry red chilly and fry for a min. Add tomato paste and brown sugar.

Then add chicken stock, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Keep mixing until it starts bubbling. Reduce the flame to low and Add cornstarch slurry, stirring frequently. The sauce should begin to thicken in a minute or less.

Increase flame, Add cooked chicken pieces, stirring them to coat with the sauce.

 

Remove from heat and garnish with sliced garlic and serve with rice.