Chinese · 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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I
The Market List
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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
3
dried red chilies
whole
Your own market
60 ml
rice vinegar
Your own market
45 ml
soy sauce
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
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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.
Pillars V — VII
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Cross-cuisine parallels, what to pour, and the dish's origin and lineage — on every recipe.
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