General Tso’s Chicken Recipe
General Tso’s chicken is a very popular Chinese dish. This is a crispy, sweet, spicy, sticky, and healthy recipe that is not deep-fried or baked. Serve it over steamed rice or noodles for a complete meal that’s ready in just 30 minutes.
General Tso’s Chicken is a popular Chinese-American dish consisting of deep-fried chicken pieces that are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, coated in a sweet and slightly spicy sauce.
Why make this healthy chicken?
- Delicious – This tastes better than any restaurant or takeout you will buy.
- Quick – It is the perfect meal in less than 30 minutes with very little effort.
- Healthy – Unlike Chinese takeout, where the chicken is deep-fried, I pan-fry the chicken. And yet, this chicken still has a wonderful crisp coating that gets soaked in the sauces.
- Crispy – The secret to a nice crisp coating is to use rice flour or all cornstarch (not regular flour).
Ingredients and substitutes
- Chicken – I love to use chicken thighs, but chicken breast works just as well for this dish.
- Flour – You must use either rice or cornflour. Rice flour gives the chicken a nice crisp coating. While cornstarch does that, too, you will find that rice flour works better. The regular wheat flour combines with the egg to make a softer coating, which becomes very starchy when soaked in the sauce. I hope that makes sense.
- Ginger and garlic – Use fresh, not powders. It makes a huge difference in flavor.
- Chilly flakes – Use the amount that works for your family. Use more if you want it spicier or less, depending on your taste.
- Hoisin sauce – You can find it in most supermarkets these days. Look in the Asian cooking section. If not, look for an Asian grocery store near you.
- Soy sauce – I use the low-sodium one since it’s less salty. If you use regular soy sauce, reduce or omit salt in the recipe as required. Do not use dark soy sauce, as it will overpower the rest of the ingredients.
- Sesame oil – Adds the heat and smell of Asian cooking you get in Chinese restaurants.
Step-by-step: General Tso chicken recipe
- Marinate chicken – Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the egg, rice flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Combine well.
Pro tip – If possible, marinate the chicken for 15 to 30 minutes up to 3 hours.
- Sauce – In another bowl, combine all sauce ingredients and set aside.
Pro tip – Cornstarch tends to settle at the bottom of the pan, so you will need to stir it again before adding it to the pan.
Crispy Chicken
- Crispy chicken – In a wok or cast-iron skillet, on medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons cooking oil (do not use olive oil).
- Next, add chicken pieces, one at a time, making sure they are apart. Do this in batches to avoid crowding the pan.
Pro tip – Crowding the pan will lower the heat and steam rather than sear the chicken, giving a crisp coating. - Cook on one side for a minute until lightly golden. Then, turn it over and cook the other side. Remove the chicken and keep it warm.
Pro tip – Don’t make haste, keep the heat on medium-high. The high heat will give a nice color and crispy coating as well.
Stir fry
- To the same skillet, reduce the heat and add the remaining oil. Sauté the ginger, garlic, and chili flakes.
- Add the sauce – cook for 30 seconds. Then, add the chicken pieces and coat the chicken with the sauce. If necessary, add a few tablespoons of water to loosen things up.
Pro tip – Keep the heat to medium-low. Otherwise, all the sauce will evaporate. - Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro. Garnish with more chili flakes (or sesame seeds).
Frequently asked questions
How long will this chicken keep?
This chicken will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. You can even freeze it for up to a month. When reheating, add a few tablespoons of water if the sauce is too thick.
Is General Tso’s Chicken spicy?
It can be spicy, depending on how you prepare it. The sauce typically includes ingredients like soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and chili peppers, which can give it a spicy kick. However, you can adjust the level of spiciness to suit your taste preferences.
Can I deep fry the chicken?
You can deep-fry the chicken instead of pan-frying. Heat the oil to about 325°˝F and cook until lightly golden.
How can you make chicken crispy without deep frying?
The secret to getting a nice crisp coating is to make sure you use rice flour or all cornstarch (not regular flour). Rice flour gives the chicken a nice crisp coating. While cornstarch does that, too, you will find that rice flour works better. The regular wheat flour combines with the egg to make a softer coating, which becomes very starchy when soaked in the sauce.
What should you serve with General Tso’s chicken?
I like to serve a veggie side dish like sesame green beans, garlic sautéed cabbage, garlic butter mushrooms, or sautéed broccoli.
Healthy Crispy General Tso’s Chicken
General Tso's chicken is a very popular Chinese takeout. This is a crispy, sweet, spicy, sticky, and healthy recipe that is not deep-fried or baked. Serve it over steamed rice or noodles for a complete meal that's ready in just 30 minutes.
Video
Ingredients
Marinade for chicken
- 1 lb (500 g) Chicken cut into cubes
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 tbsp Rice flour (or more cornstarch)
- 1 Egg
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
For the sauce
- 3 tbsp Rice wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp Soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Chicken broth
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Cornstarch
- ½ tsp Sesame oil
For stir fry
- 3 tbsp Cooking oil canola, sunflower, grapeseed
- 1 tsp Garlic grated
- 1 tsp Ginger grated
- 2 tsp Chili flakes hot
Method
- Marinate chicken – Cut chicken into bite-size pieces and add all marinade ingredients. I like to start by seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the egg, rice flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Combine
- Sauce – In another bowl, combine all sauce ingredients and set aside.
Crispy chicken
- Crispy chicken – In a wok or cast-iron skillet, on medium-high heat, add two tablespoons of cooking oil (do not use olive oil).
- Add chicken pieces, one at a time, making sure they are apart. Do this in batches so you don't crowd the pan.
- Cook on one side for a minute until lightly golden. Then, turn over and cook the other side. Remove the chicken and keep it warm.
Stir fry
- To the same skillet, reduce the heat and add the remaining oil. Saute the ginger, garlic, and chili flakes.
- Add the sauce – cook for 30 seconds. Then, add the chicken pieces and coat the chicken with the sauce. If necessary, add a few tablespoons of water to loosen things up.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro. Garnish with more chilly flakes (or sesame seeds).
Notes
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- Measure all the ingredients correctly, so you have a balanced sauce
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- Add less salt to the dish, as some of the sauces are already salty. But remember to taste and adjust the seasoning at the end.
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- Do not add too many pieces of chicken to the pan to prevent them from sticking to each other.
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- Cook the chicken on high heat, but cook the sauce on a low simmer to prevent the sugar from burning.
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- Stir the sauce well before adding it to the pan, as cornstarch tends to settle at the bottom.
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- You can add more chili flakes to make it spicy. You can even add whole red dry chilies.
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- If you don’t have rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar is better than lemon juice.
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- You can serve this chicken over steamed rice or noodles. You can even add boiled, drained noodles directly to the wok to make General Tso’s chicken with noodles.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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You are the most thoughtful chef I’ve ever found. I’ll be 83 in October, so you can imagine there have been a few. The way you describe what to do is do spot on and easy to understand. It feels like you’re there in my kitchen. Making your recipes has brought me great pleasure and delicious meals. I’m NEVER disappointed with the end result because I do EXACTLY as you suggest each time. I have tremendous respect for you and very much appreciate all you have taught me. Thank you for sharing your excellent talent with all of us.
Best regards,
Wendy Connolly
PS
Love your occasional humorous comments….adds “spice” ‼️
Hey Wendy. Thank you so much for the lovely feedback. I truly appreciate it very much. I am happy to hear that my method of writing the recipes is clear and simple. Thanks again.
I have made this twice now and it is absolutely delicious!
Thank you, Lisa.
Thank you for creating and sharing your recipe. The tips and photos were helpful. I substituted potato starch for cornstarch and rice flour, also used coconut sugar instead of white sugar. It would be helpful when following the recipe if the ingredients followed the instructions. I had to go up and down to see when to add the flour, eggs, etc. Reading the recipe it seems the chicken, garlic, ginger and chili get mixed together when that isn’t the case.
Hey Florence, happy you enjoyed this recipe. I do have the ingredients written in separate sections but I will look into it again. Thanks for the feedback.
I appreciate that. It will make it easier to follow along when cooking instead of constantly scrolling up and down to see when to add the ingredients. Thank you.
Such a delicious and healthy way to enjoy this chicken! I am a big fan of chicken like this but it can be so hard to make it in a healthy way! This chicken is SO good.
I love that you don’t need to deep fry the chicken. So much healthier and such a tasty recipe!
This dish has always been a favorite of mine at the mall so glad I can now make it at home and you posted the recipe !!!!
Cannot wait to try this! The step of what to do with the flour isn’t included. Do we dip chicken in after marinating with egg or do we use it in the marinade itself?
You add the egg, rice flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Combine well.
The marinade is well coated with the egg so it gets used up when you pan fry the chicken