Pictorial: General Tso's Chicken

[hzrt8w]

Pictorial Recipe

General Tso's Chicken (左宗棠雞)

I am going to publish my version of this controversial recipe: General Tso's Chicken. It is a very popular dish in Chinese restaurants in North America. However, most of the versions made, in my opinion, are overly sweet and the chicken pieces are unjustly deep-fried in thick batter first. This dish is controversial because there seems to be no general agreement of how it should be made. Therefore, many people have different versions or interpretations of this dish.

I adapted my own version from the recipe published by Maria Lee:

http://www.marialee.com/chinese/poultry4.htm

(Recipe written in Chinese)

This dish is quite easy to make at home. You may modify this recipe to adjust for your own taste. For example, you may want to add more sugar to sweeten it up. In the spirit of real Chinese cooking, however, I would not recommend deep-frying the chicken meat in batter.

Picture of the finished dish:

Serving Suggestion: 2-3

Preparations:

Main ingredients (upper right, clockwise):

- 3 pieces of boneless chicken breast, about 1.5 to 2 lb

- Garlic, use about 4-5 cloves

- Ginger, use about 1 inch in length

- About 7-8 stalks of green onions

- Chinese red vinegar (very important for this dish)

Trim the fat off the chicken breasts. Cut into 1-inch dices.

To marinate the chicken: Use a mixing bowl, add chicken dices. Add:

- 1-2 tsp of sesame oil

- 1 tsp of dark soy sauce

- 1-2 tsp of light soy sauce

- 1 tsp of oyster sauce

- 1 tsp of ground white pepper

- 1-2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine

- 1-2 tsp of corn starch

- a pinch of salt (e.g. 1/4 tsp)

Mix well. Set aside for about 30 minutes before cooking.

Peel and mince 4-5 cloves of garlic. Grate or finely chop 1-inch of ginger. Trim end and finely chop 7-8 stalks of green onions.

Cooking Instructions:

Use a pan/wok, set stove at high. Add 3-4 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil is hot. Velvet the marinated chicken meat first.

Stir-well. It takes 2-3 minutes (or longer). Cook until the chicken meat is slightly undercooked - when the pink color just starts to disappear. Remove from pan/wok.

Start with a clean pan/wok, set stove at high. Add 2-3 tblsp of cooking oil Wait until oil starts fuming. Add about 20 dried chilies.

Add the minced garlic, grated/chopped ginger and about 3/4 portion of the chopped green onion. Add 1/2 tsp of salt (or to taste). Quickly dash in 2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine and 2-3 tsp (or even 4-5 tsp if you want it on the sour side) of Chinese red vinegar. Stir well.

Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of chicken broth. Wait until it starts boiling. Add corn starch slurry (suggest: 1-2 tsp of corn starch in 2-3 tsp of water) to thicken the sauce to the right consistency.

Return the chicken, and add the remaining portion of the chopped green onions. Dash in 1 tsp of dark soy sauce and a pinch of sugar (e.g. 1 tsp). Mix well. Cook for another minute or two. Ready.

Transfer to the serving plate.

Picture of the finished dish.

(Note: The quantity of food produced in this recipe is about twice the portion shown in this picture.)

[jhirshon]

This looks spectacular - as always, another wonderful tutorial, sze sze.

cheers, JH

[Grub]

How come you disapprove of the deep frying part of this recipe? I'm no fan of deep frying, but I really like the crispy texture the chicken gets from it.

There is obviously a difference between the food served in homes and that served in restaurants of any given culture -- Indian, Chinese, French and well, any other culture that developed restaurants -- but as far as I understand it, General Tso's Chicken seems to have been a creation of the American Chinese restaurant tradition. Like Chicken Kiev, it might not actually have been invented here, but it could have gotten its name, and generally become a traditional dish in the US.

I hope this doesn't sound too negative, dude. The tutorial is -- as jhirshon said, wonderful.

Oh yeah, one more thing -- why chicken breasts, as opposed to dark meat? I know this sounds like a bit of a culinary urban legend, but one story I heard about the reason for the popularity of this dish, is that it used the cheaper parts of the chicken (while still tasting great), which prompted restauranteurs to promote the dish as a special, premium dish. This would make a lot of sense, financially speaking... But even if this is incorrect, it would still make sense to use chicken thighs for this dish, since they are a lot cheaper, and far more flavorful than chicken breasts.

[docsconz]

Marvelous as always, Ah Leung! I like the fact that you don't add much sugar. My biggest beef with most restaurant examples is that they are way too sweet.

[Dejah]

I think General Tso's chicken, from various googled images, is the same as what we served as sesame chicken, except for the excessive # of dried chili peppers.

I do deep fry the chicken pieces, usually thick strips of dark and white meat. I season the chicken with salt, MSG, and sesame oil, then work in an egg, flour and baking powder. This is worked in thoughly, then the chicken is tossed into fine cracker crumbs. The chicken is deepfried, and they end up with a nice crunch without thick batter.

The sauce is just vinegar, water, a little sugar, sesame oil, 5-spice powder, and lots of crushed pepper (amount depends on the consumer). This is thickened with a cornstarch slurry, and the chicken pieces are tossed in quickly to coat. I prefer to NOT completely soak the chicken pieces with sauce. I do provide a side of the sauce for those who like more sauce. It's crunchy, spicy, more tang than sweet, sesame flavoured, and topped with sesame seeds.

Might to have to make some soon.

Ah Leung only uses breast meat 'cos he obeys his wife!

[Chris Amirault]

Charmaine Solomon has a Szechuan chicken with red chili dish that is a relative of General Tso's chicken and that I make a lot here. She deep fries the chicken with a light corn flour, five spice, S&P dredge. It's not a batter at all; the chicken just picks up a nice crunch.

[jo-mel]

Just some background on the good general, and a couple of claims for it's origin in this country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A59302-2002Apr16

Delfs' "The Good Food of Szechuan" has this dish with the characters 左宗棠雞, but because the general was unpopular in the PRC, it was called La Jiao Zi Ji.-辣 椒子雞. His recipe also uses chicken breast and does not deep fry it in a batter. also, no sugar.

I like the idea of velveting the chicken, but I would use dark meat. I just like it better.

What is the major difference between La Zi Ji and Gong Bao Ji? I know the latter usually is served with peanuts, but I read somewhere that this wasn't original. Is it because the Gong bao is diced and uses more peppers?

[torakris]

can someone tell me more about this red vinegar..

I have used the black vinegar before but have never heard of red, can you tell me it's Chinese name with characters if possible.

[jo-mel]

can someone tell me more about this red vinegar..

I have used the black vinegar before but have never heard of red, can you tell me it's Chinese name with characters if possible.

←

Here is one brand - Koon Chun, but there are other brands. I think my favorite is Pearl River. But in this picture, you can see the characters.

http://chinesefood.about.com/gi/dynamic/of...%2Dgourmet.com/

In this one, go halfway down the page for a picture and a description.

http://www.foodsubs.com/Vinegars.html

[liuzhou]

Red Vinegar (大红浙醋) is a speciality of Zhejiang Province, but available all over China. It is slightly sweet and is often used with seafood.

[AzianBrewer]

There are debates on the birthplace of this dish. Some argued that it is from NYC and others said West Coast. And there are claims from Toronto.

[ash123]

Ah Leung,

Thank You for sharing this recipe. I had been looking for it for long. I liked your idea of shallow frying it too.

Ash

[zaskar]

Fushia Dunlop just came out with a book on Hunan cuisne, the Revloutionary cookbook or something like that. She has 2 versions of general Tso's Chicken. One that is "authentic" and one that is "american/westernized". I had to order mine from the UK, since it's not released to the US until Feb '07

[AzianBrewer]

Fushia Dunlop just came out with a book on Hunan cuisne, the Revloutionary cookbook or something like that.  She has 2 versions of general Tso's Chicken.  One that is "authentic" and one that is "american/westernized".  I had to order mine from the UK, since it's not released to the US until Feb '07

←

So there is a real General Tso Chicken after all huh....

[CaliPoutine]

I think General Tso's chicken, from various googled images, is the same as what we served as sesame chicken, except for the excessive # of dried chili peppers.

I do deep fry the chicken pieces, usually thick strips of dark and white meat. I season the chicken with salt, MSG, and sesame oil, then work in an egg, flour and baking powder. This is worked in thoughly, then the chicken is tossed into fine cracker crumbs. The chicken is deepfried, and they end up with a nice crunch without thick batter.

The sauce is just vinegar, water, a little sugar, sesame oil, 5-spice powder, and lots of crushed pepper (amount depends on the consumer). This is thickened with a cornstarch slurry, and the chicken pieces are tossed in quickly to coat. I prefer to NOT completely soak the chicken pieces with sauce. I do provide a side of the sauce for those who like more sauce. It's crunchy, spicy, more tang than sweet, sesame flavoured, and topped with sesame seeds.

Might to have to make some soon.

Ah Leung only uses breast meat 'cos he obeys his wife!

←

If I remember correctly, his wife doesnt like dark meat( and this is why I love these demo's so much, I hate dark meat too).

Edited September 1, 2006 by CaliPoutine (log)

[onehsancare]

Fushia Dunlop just came out with a book on Hunan cuisne, the Revloutionary cookbook or something like that.  She has 2 versions of general Tso's Chicken.  One that is "authentic" and one that is "american/westernized".  I had to order mine from the UK, since it's not released to the US until Feb '07

←

How are the two recipes different, both from each other, and from Ah Leung's version?

[Della]

This looks good and I can't wait to try it.

I have to admit however, I don't know what it means to "velvet the chicken" - can someone please explain?

[Della]

This looks good and I can't wait to try it.

I have to admit however, I don't know what it means to "velvet the chicken" - can someone please explain?

←

Wait a minute........is this what it means?

Place egg white in a large bowl and whisk lightly (but not enough to make it go frothy). Whisk in the other coating ingredients. Add the chicken strips and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

[jo-mel]

This looks good and I can't wait to try it.

I have to admit however, I don't know what it means to "velvet the chicken" - can someone please explain?

←

Wait a minute........is this what it means?

Place egg white in a large bowl and whisk lightly (but not enough to make it go frothy). Whisk in the other coating ingredients. Add the chicken strips and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

←

Velveting is a cooking technique where shredded, diced. or sliced meat or poultry is marinated in a base usually of cornstarch/egg/sherry/oil. The marinated meat is then stirred into an amount oil that has been heated from about 250' to no higher than 350'. The meat pieces are stirred carefully around to coat all surfaces with the oil , for about 30 seconds. The meat is then drained. It is not fully cooked, but when it is returned to the dish and reheated in the sauce, the cooking is completed.

The idea is that the juices are retained and the meat is tender and has a wonderful texture. You can't get the same result in regular stir/frying.

[Della]

This looks good and I can't wait to try it.

I have to admit however, I don't know what it means to "velvet the chicken" - can someone please explain?

←

Wait a minute........is this what it means?

Place egg white in a large bowl and whisk lightly (but not enough to make it go frothy). Whisk in the other coating ingredients. Add the chicken strips and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

←

Velveting is a cooking technique where shredded, diced. or sliced meat or poultry is marinated in a base usually of cornstarch/egg/sherry/oil. The marinated meat is then stirred into an amount oil that has been heated from about 250' to no higher than 350'. The meat pieces are stirred carefully around to coat all surfaces with the oil , for about 30 seconds. The meat is then drained. It is not fully cooked, but when it is returned to the dish and reheated in the sauce, the cooking is completed.

The idea is that the juices are retained and the meat is tender and has a wonderful texture. You can't get the same result in regular stir/frying.

←

THANK YOU!!! I am going to try to do this this weekend. Is there a ratio to the cornstarch/egg/sherry/oil? Is it all 4 ingrediants or does it vary depending on what you are cooking? Sorry if this is taking this off topic............Della

[jo-mel]

THANK YOU!!! I am going to try to do this this weekend. Is there a ratio to the cornstarch/egg/sherry/oil? Is it all 4 ingrediants or does it vary depending on what you are cooking? Sorry if this is taking this off topic............Della

←

Here is a link describing it, and a recipe to follow. Barbara Tropp is/was one of the last words on this.

http://melindalee.com/recipearchive.html?a...124&item_id=374

In the recipe, I usually use Egg Beaters with good results.

Some cooks don't use as much oil. The standard seems to be 2 to 4 cups, but some use as little as 1/4 to 1/2 cup, with the same results. The idea is to get 'warmed' oil on all the surfaces for a short period of time. The warm oil cooks the egg and cornstarch enough to seal in the juices of the meat.

Good luck!

[liuzhou]

Fuchsia Dunlop's explanation of the origin of General Tso's chicken (and a recipe) are here.

[gus_tatory]

Fuchsia Dunlop's explanation of the origin of General Tso's chicken (and a recipe) are here.

←

The foks at metafilter.com--who are amazing, tireless researchers, have the answer here. Clicky...

[eugenep]

This might sound weird but in some dishes that texture is best when the cook is trying to make the broth thick like ketchup for dipping fried foods in (without making the food soggy). 

 

If the sauce didn't turn into a thick paste like that, the fried chicken etc. would be doused in soup/sauce and soggy. 

 

Hey. Mabe not change the sauce but change the chicken and deep fry with a batter. Now the sauce is perfect. lol 

 

 

[heidih]

1 hour ago, eugenep said:

This might sound weird but in some dishes that texture is best when the cook is trying to make the broth thick like ketchup for dipping fried foods in (without making the food soggy). 

 

If the sauce didn't turn into a thick paste like that, the fried chicken etc. would be doused in soup/sauce and soggy. 

 

Hey. Mabe not change the sauce but change the chicken and deep fry with a batter. Now the sauce is perfect. lol 

 

 

That fried and dipped into glop sounds more Americn-Chinese