General Tso’s, Tao’s, or Tsao’s chicken, whichever way you to want spell it, is one of the most popular dishes in Chinese restaurants today. This wonderful dish is actually an American born recipe that has many variations. Basic General Tso’s chicken consists of pieces of thigh meat battered and deep fried and then tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce. Some chefs make their chicken with a very dough like coating; some make it crispy, while others use almost no coating at all. The recipe below uses chicken breast meat with a crispy coating and an amazing sauce. Try this delicious dish and let me know what you think in the Chinese food forum. To see a video of these instructions click here. Enjoy!

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (2 lbs)
3 green onions
2 cups or more of peanut oil
1/3 cup cornstarch

Marinade:
¼ cup soy sauce

Sauce:
1½ cups chicken broth
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp sherry
½ tbsp hot chili garlic sauce

Batter:
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup cornstarch

1. Remove all of the fat from the chicken and then cut each breast into 1 inch to 1½ inch pieces. Then place these pieces in a container with a tight fitting lid to be marinated.


2. Add the soy marinade and let it sit at room temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes.


3. While the chicken marinates, prepare the other ingredients. Rinse the green onions under cold running water and pat them dry with paper towels. Cut off their bases and about an inch from the top of the stems and discard. Cut the remaining stalks into small pieces and set them aside.


4. In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients for the sauce. Stir everything together thoroughly and then set it aside.


5. In a cup mix together the 1/3 cup of cornstarch with just enough water so that it dissolves. Then set this mixture aside.


6. Next, set up a station to coat the chicken. Place the flour in one bowl, and the cornstarch in another. Then crack the eggs into a third bowl and scramble them. Set them up so that you have the flour bowl next to the egg bowl, and then the cornstarch bowl. Place a plate next to the cornstarch bowl to put the finished coated chicken on.


7. Now simply dip the marinated chicken into the flour, then the egg, and then into the cornstarch. Place the finished pieces on the plate trying to keep them separated. They will stick together if they are placed on top of one another. If they do, you can simply pull them apart with chopsticks or a fork right before cooking them.


8. Once all of the chicken is coated, heat the 2 cups of peanut oil on high. Depending on the size of your wok, you may want to add more or less oil. We just want enough so that the chicken will be submerged in the oil.


9. Once the oil is hot, place about 1/3 of the pieces into the wok. Remember, we do not want to overcrowd the wok, so we have to cook the chicken in batches.


10. Cook it for about 10 minutes, or until it is brown. Then remove the pieces with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.


11. When all of the chicken has cooked, pour the oil into another container for future use and wipe out the wok.


12. Then return the wok to the stove, add the sauce mixture and heat it on high.


13. Once the sauce comes to a boil, add the cornstarch. Stir until thick, and then quickly add the chicken. This sauce gets thick fast, so we want to make sure that we can coat all of the chicken before it gets too thick. Turn the heat off and stir until all of the chicken is coated.


14. Add the green onions and continue stirring. Serve with fried rice. Makes about 4 servings.