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General Tso's Chicken
American · New York

General Tso's Chicken

General Tso's chicken is a Chinese-American creation — there is no General Tso's chicken in China. The dish was developed in the 1970s in New York by Taiwanese chef Peng Chang-kuei, and bears little resemblance to Hunanese cooking. However, as an expression of Chinese-American cooking at its best, it is worthy of serious treatment: boneless chicken, crispy-fried in a light batter, tossed in a sweet-hot-sour-savoury sauce of soy, vinegar, sugar, and dried chillies.

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Serves4
Total35 min
Sourced2of 13 in BC
Cook
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I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

600 g
chicken breast
cut into 2 cm cubes
Your own market
30 ml
neutral oil
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4 cloves
garlic
minced
Your own market
15 g
fresh ginger
minced
Origin · New ZealandPurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →
3
dried red chilies
whole
Your own market
60 ml
rice vinegar
Your own market
45 ml
30 g
caster sugar
Your own market
5 ml
sesame oil
Your own market
240 ml
chicken stock
Your own market
15 g
cornstarch mixed with 30 ml water
Your own market
2
scallions
cut into 2 cm pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
8
roasted cashews
whole (optional)
Origin · IndiaNot yet stocked in British Columbia

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

II

The Method

1
Heat neutral oil in wok over high heat; stir-fry chicken in batches until 60% cooked, about 3 minutes per batch. Set aside.
2
Add ginger, garlic, and dried chilies; toast for 30 seconds until fragrant.
3
Deglaze with rice vinegar; add soy sauce, sugar, and chicken stock.
4
Return chicken to wok; bring sauce to simmer and cook 8 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
5
Drizzle in cornstarch slurry while stirring until sauce thickens and coats chicken, about 1 minute.
6
Finish with sesame oil; fold in scallions and cashews if using.
7
Serve immediately over steamed white rice.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where General Tso's lives or dies is the sauce temperature — the sauce must be at a rolling boil in the wok when the fried chicken is added. The hot, bubbling sauce coats the chicken immediately and caramelises slightly on contact. Cold sauce on hot chicken produces a wet coating instead of the sticky, caramelised finish.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI

What to Pour

The pairing
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Buffalo Trace Distillery · Kentucky Bourbon Country
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Whisky
From British Columbia

Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.

Without alcohol

No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.

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The whole pairing
Pillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Purely Artisan Foods
San Diego · fresh ginger, soy sauce
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