If you've tried making homemade General Tso's Chicken, but it always ends up soggy and nothing like takeout, then try this gluten free general tso chicken that stays crispy to the last bite.
There are quick and easy steps you can take to ensure that you end up with homemade General's Tso chicken that is stays crispy and is just as tasty as takeout.
Ingredients
Flour- use a gluten free all-purpose flour or rice flour, which you can easily make at home.
Chili peppers- dried, red chili pods.
Chicken- white meat, chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces.
Soy sauce- regular or low sodium.
Brown sugar- light brown, or dark is fine; can also substitute granulated sugar.
Rice vinegar- rice vinegar is preferred, but can substitute white vinegar.
Garlic- freshly minced, or dehydrated garlic powder.
Ginger- freshly peeled and grated, or dried ground ginger.
Onion- thinly sliced green onion (scallions) or dehydrated onion powder.
Corn starch- a naturally gluten free thickener.
Sesame seeds- for finishing.
Vegetable oil- for frying.
Prepare
Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Pat dry with paper towels.
Mince the garlic, grate the ginger and slice the green onion if not using powdered spices.
Whisk the soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger and onion together in bowl with water and set aside.
Prepare a draining station for the fried chicken pieces, consisting of a wire rack elevated over a baking sheet or paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Dredging Station
The dredging and batter station should be done in a 3-part, double dredge fashion.
Dredge the chicken pieces in the gluten free flour or rice flour mixture, then dip them in the egg mixture, then back into the rice flour dredging mix again.
Do all of the pieces and set them on a plate.
Fry
Fill the oil just 1-2 inches deep.
Bring the oil to a temperature of 350 degrees F.
Place pieces of dredged chicken in the hot oil, leaving space between and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, flipping once they are golden and crisp.
Use tongs to transfer the fried chicken pieces onto the draining rack.
Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
Transfer the fried chicken pieces out of the hot oil and onto the wire rack draining station until all the pieces are done, like shown below.
Sauce
When all of the chicken pieces are fried, discard of the hot oil and wipe the skillet with a few paper towels to remove most of the leftover oil.
Whisk the soy sauce mixture again and pour into the skillet. Simmer on medium heat for a couple of minutes until thickened.
Add the breaded, fried chicken pieces and dried chili pods and toss to coat.
Serve immediately with steamed or fried rice, or desired side.
Check out these other related gluten free and take-out style recipes, or scroll down to the recipe.
If you tried this recipe, leave a comment below or a rating in the recipe card.
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free General Tso Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breast 1-2 inch pieces
- vegetable oil for frying
For the Dredge
- 1 cup all purpose flour can substitute gluten free all purpose flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger ground
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- pepper to taste, optional
For the Egg Wash
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste optional
For the Sauce
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ginger ground
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon corn starch can substitute 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 6-8 dried chili pepper pods
For Serving
- sesame seeds for garnish
- steamed white rice for serving
Instructions
Prepare the Sauce
- Mix together all sauce ingredients, leaving out the chili pods for now for a milder flavor. If spicier sauce is desired, add chili pods to the sauce to soak while the rest of the recipe is prepared (you can also do this a few days in advance for even more kick).
Prepare the Chicken and Frying Oil
- Cut thawed chicken into bite size pieces, pat dry. Salt and pepper to taste (optional).
- Combine the dredging ingredients in one medium sized bowl and egg wash ingredients in another bowl of the same size.
- 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.
- In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1-2 inches deep of oil to medium-high heat, or 350 degrees Fahrenheit with a thermometer. If the oil is smoking, it's too hot.
- Once the oil has come to temperature, begin frying the prepared chicken pieces, working in batches. Set the pieces in the hot oil, with some room between each of them. Fry on that side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Turn, and repeat for other side. Set finished pieces onto a wire rack over a paper towel lined baking sheet, making sure the chicken pieces are elevated at least half an inch over the paper towels. Don't crowd the chicken stack it, which will steam it and make it soggy. Repeat batches until all the chicken is fried. REMOVE OIL FROM HEAT-DRAIN IMMEDIATELY OR PLACE IN A SAFE PLACE TO COOL WHERE IT CAN'T BE PULLED DOWN BY CHILDREN-OIL STAYS HOT AND DANGEROUS FOR AT LEAST ONE HOUR AFTER BEING REMOVED FROM HEAT.
- Heat a shallow, dry skillet (preferably a cast iron skillet, if possible) on medium to medium-high heat.
- Give sauce a quick whisk to combine any ingredients that have settled, and pour into the hot skillet, along with the dried chili pods if they haven't been added to the sauce yet; simmer for 2 minutes until sauce begins to thicken. (If you substituted flour for corn starch, simmer for 4 minutes.)
- Add fried chicken pieces to thickened sauce, and toss to coat. Remove skillet from heat.
- Sprinkle chicken with sesame seeds in the skillet.
- Serve with steamed white, brown, or cauliflower rice and sesame seeds.
Notes
- For a gluten free version of this dish, substitute all purpose flour with gluten free all purpose flour. Prepare the rest of the dish as normal.
- Elevate fried chicken pieces on a cooling rack at least ½ an inch over paper towels or any surface to allow steam to escape (so they don't become soggy).
- Don't crowd the chicken while frying, or draining.
- Sauce can be made in advance and stored in refrigerator for up to one week.
- For a spicier sauce, make the sauce in advance and add chili pods directly to the sauce to soak. They can soak from 30 minutes for a mild kick, or longer for a spicier kick. The longer they soak, the spicier the sauce will be.
- For a mild sauce, only add the chili pods to the sauce with the chicken, and toss to coat. Don't serve chili pods to anyone who desires a mild flavor.
Michele
Saturday 12th of February 2022
Just made this for dinner and it's outstanding! I added some steamed broccoli but otherwise followed the recipe precisely and it's better than most Chinese places I've gone to! Already looking forward to naming it again.
Marti Duffey
Tuesday 17th of November 2020
Great receipe. With so much home time now I am getting back into cooking. The bright side of an otherwise dark time. All my friends are doing the same thing. Thank you
Erin
Thursday 19th of November 2020
Marti, I totally agree with you, it is a bright side for sure. I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying that part of it, and I'm thrilled you liked the recipe. Take care, Marti.