Juicy, white meat chicken, with a super stay-crispy fried breading, tossed in a sweet and spicy, sticky General Tso sauce. It's better than takeout; at home!
If you love take-out food, check out these Food Truck Noodles. Springy, chewy Asian noodles and veggies stir fried in a light sauce.
Better than Takeout
General Tso Chicken is a Chinese food takeout favorite, and it can seem intimidating to try to recreate it at home. Trust me, it's not scary! And because you get to control the quality of ingredients, you are able to ditch the MSG, and other additives.
If you've tried other recipes and still ended up going back to the take-out menu because it's not turning out the way you want, you're in the right place now. I've been there before too. After (a lot) of experimenting, and tweaking with this dish, I've nailed down a way to make the perfect, crispy homemade General Tso Chicken every time.
How to Keep Fried Chicken Pieces Crispy
I'm confident that you'll love this recipe, because the chicken pieces fry up crispy, and stay crispy! Read on for the few must-do steps to get crispy General Tso chicken that doesn't get soggy.
What Kind of Flour to Use
I cannot stress this part enough. I have been stubborn about this one in the past, and I'm telling you right now, if you want crispy chicken, you must use a blend of regular flour and rice flour. Rice flour is where it's at. See below for gluten free general Tso chicken.
Gluten Free Version
A basic gluten-free "baking mix", works great as a gluten free version of General Tso Chicken. The main ingredient is usually rice flour, followed by other gluten free starches. You can double check the ingredient list on the side of the container. When using a gluten free mix, like this one from King Arthur, just substitute the all purpose flour portion of the recipe with the gluten free mix.
The dredging station requires two bowls but three "dips" of the chicken pieces: first in flour mix, then in eggs, then back in flour.
Breading Station
Here's another key step, that I cannot stress enough. The dredging and batter station must be done in a 3-part, double dredge fashion. You're going to dredge them in the rice flour dredging mix, then dip them in the egg mixture, then back into the rice flour dredging mix again. I know it's more common to do a two step dredge and dip, and I used to do it that way too. The truth is, the breading just isn't quite thick enough, and it pulls off really easily during frying. Giving a last re-dredge kind of seals the deal on a perfect, crispy crust that stays put while staying crispy.
Draining the Grease without Making it Soggy
Finally, when it comes to transferring the fried chicken pieces out of the hot oil and onto an area to drain, avoid laying them directly on a paper towel. This is huge. For the third time, I actually cannot stress this enough. Yes, using paper towels absorbs excess oil, but it ruins the crispy breading you just spent time achieving. It seals in the hot steam and actually steams your chicken. That'll take crispy and crunchy, to soggy and sad in a matter of minutes.
Instead, use a wire rack to elevate them. You can put a paper towel lined tray or plate under that to catch the drippings. I use a cookie sheet and paper towels, with a large rack over it.
Don't lay fried chicken pieces directly on paper towels, as this will make them soggy by creating a "steam effect." Instead, use a wire rack of some kind to elevate them off of the surface that will catch excess grease.
Homemade General Tso Sauce
The sauce can be made up anywhere from days in advance, and refrigerated, up to the right before the point you need to use it. It only takes seconds to whisk up, so I usually do it as I'm about to toss it all together.
Whisk the sauce ingredients together and pour into a fully heated skillet, on medium-high heat, along with the dried, whole red chili peppers (you can find these in the Mexican or Asian section of the grocery store). The sauce should immediately begin to simmer. Let it simmer a few minutes until you see it thicken up. Then turn the heat off, add your fried chicken pieces, and toss to coat. Serve immediately with steamed rice, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Homemade General Tso Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 3 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup all purpose flour can sub gluten free flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder minced finely
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tbps soy sauce
- vegetable or frying oil
For the General's Sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp garlic powder or minced garlic clove
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- dried chili pepper pods
For Serving
- sesame seeds for garnish
- steamed white rice for serving
Instructions
- Cut thawed chicken into bite size pieces, pat dry.
- In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1 inch deep oil to medium heat, or 350 degrees with a thermometer.
- Combine rice flour, salt and sugar, garlic powder and ginger. Set aside in one shallow bowl.
- Combine eggs and the tablespoon of soy sauce, and beat, set aside in another shallow bowl.
- Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge each chicken piece first in the flour mixture, then dip in the egg, then back in the flour mixture again to coat; set aside on a plate. Repeat with each chicken piece.
- Once the oil has come to temperature, begin frying the prepared chicken pieces, working in batches. Set the pieces in the hot oil, with a little room between each of them. Fry on that side until golden brown, about 1 minutes. Turn, and repeat for other side. Set finished pieces onto a wire rack. Repeat batches until all the chicken is fried.
- Mix together all sauce ingredients except chili peppers. Heat a shallow skillet to medium high heat, fully. Pour in sauce mix, and chili peppers, and simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Turn off heat.
- Add fried chicken pieces, toss to coat. Garnish with sesame seeds.
- Serve with steamed white rice and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Elevate fried chicken pieces on a cooling rack to allow steam to escape so they don't become soggy.
- Sauce can be made in advance and stored in refrigerator
- Simmer the sauce first, then turn the heat off while still leaving the pan on the burner and add chicken pieces; toss to coat
- Serve with steamed rice
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