recipe-help Looking for a good Genral tso's chicken recipe

This is generally my favorite Chinese takeout food. I spent a number of years trying to recreate it on my own. Cornstarch and a wok are key. The flavors are rice wine, garlic, chile, sugar, and soy sauce. Since I don't measure anything, I have no recipe to share, but this one is close to what I do.

http://appetiteforchina.com/recipes/general-tsos-chicken/
 
what yall want to do is go to your local stuff your face till you puke cheap china buffet. eat that crap and be happy with it.



p.s. if you are one of those people that eat a bowl of ice ceam after your china buffet,you disgust me :rofl:
 
Thank you Jay t:) can't wait to try it!!

Sicman that's what I'm talking about!!! Easiest wAy to go! Lol. Unfortunately Darth wants me to try and make it -_- and HE does eat ice cream when he is done! Puke!! :rofl:
 
sicman said:
what yall want to do is go to your local stuff your face till you puke cheap china buffet. eat that crap and be happy with it.
p.s. if you are one of those people that eat a bowl of ice ceam after your china buffet,you disgust me :rofl:
Click to expand...


We have no local china buffet, we have no semi-local china buffet....we have the deep-fried, packaged deli counter with the GenTso sitting right next to the corn dogs, jojos and bbq burritos.


Authentic? Gourmet? Edible?
NOT!


OK, I'm gonna quit wine-ing and try the recipe JayT linked. It looks really good!


probably doesn't help that I'm really hungry.... :)
 
I want to thank you Randkev for making me crave this again dammit! Now I am going to have to get some chicken thighs and make it one night this week. Will post pics here when I do.
 
most of these recipes are pretty close this is the one I use and its supposed to serve 8

Ingredients

Sauce
1/2 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup Water
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Ginger
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup White Vinegar
1/4 cup Sherry (I have used a white wine before as well)
1 can condensed Chicken Broth
Meat
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into chunks - I like to use thighs because they are more moist but can use breastesez
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Cornstarch
2 cups sliced Green Onions
8 small dried Hot Peppers, seeds removed
Instructions

Sauce Directions

Put everything into a quart jar with a lid and shake it up, then put in the fridge. Just shake it up again when you are ready to use it.

Meat Directions

Mix chicken, soy sauce, and hot peppers. Stir in egg. Add cornstarch, and mix until chicken pieces are coated. (It will look awful at this point.) Deep fry 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time in a 350 degree oil until chicken pieces are crispy. Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all chicken chunks are fried.

Place a small amount of oil (1 tablespoon) in wok, and heat to 400 degrees. Add onions, peppers (reusing them at this point..), and stir fry about 30 seconds. Stir sauce mixture, and then add to wok. Cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add water to right consistency. Add chicken to sauce in wok, and cook until all is hot and bubbly.


This does not reheat well, so eat I usually eat it in one sitting.
 
If you want it to taste like the take-out joints, their recipe has ketchup. Yup, ketchup. So look on the net and if you find one with it, I'd try that.
 
Here's one from Allrecipes
[background=rgb(239, 239, 239)]
INGREDIENTS:[/background]
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken
breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup ketchup [background=rgb(239, 239, 239)]
DIRECTIONS:[/background] 1. Coat the chicken pieces with 1/4 cup of cornstarch; set aside. 2. Beat the eggs, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in the flour and baking powder until no large lumps remain. Mix in the chicken until evenly coated. 3. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Drop in the chicken pieces; cook until golden brown and no longer pink on the inside, about 12 minutes. Set the chicken aside; keep warm. 4. Reduce the heat to medium-high and stir in the sesame oil, ginger, and green onion. Cook and stir until the onion is limp and the ginger begins to brown, about 1 minute. Pour in the water, vinegar, and sugar; bring to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in the soy sauce and add to the simmering vinegar along with the oyster sauce and ketchup. Stir until the sauce has thickened and is no longer cloudy. Stir in the chicken and simmer until hot.
 
Okay I looked for awhile, finally found this one, which sounds pretty spot on (or better) check it out.

general_tsos.jpg


Ingredients

1 pound organic boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced into 1-inch cubes
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
peanut or canola oil for frying, plus 1 tablespoon for stir-frying
8 dried whole red chilis, or substitute 1/4 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
~
Marinade:
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon chinese rice wine or mirin
2 egg whites
~
Sauce:
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, crushed and minced
2 tablespoons organic ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon chili paste
1 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
~
garnish:
white sesame seeds
scallions, green parts thinly sliced
How to make it

Prepare the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, and egg whites. Coat the chicken to the marinade mixture and let sit for 10 minutes.
Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients. Stir until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Set the sauce aside.
In a large bowl or deep plate, coat the marinated chicken in the cornstarch and shake off any excess before frying.
Heat the frying oil in your wok (or skillet) until it registers 350°F on an instant-read oil thermometer. Working in 2 or 3 batches, add the first batch of chicken cubes and fry until golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
Drain the oil into a heatproof container and save for discarding. Wipe the wok with a paper towel to remove any brown bits, but don’t wash.
Reheat the wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add another 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl to coat the base and sides. Add the dried chilis and garlic to the wok and stir-fry until just fragrant, about 20 seconds. Pour in the sauce mixture and stir until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Return the chicken to the wok and stir well to coat with sauce. Transfer the chicken to a serving dish. Garnish with white sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with white rice and vegetables.
Click to expand...

Source: http://www.groupreci...os-chicken.html
 
Fuchsia Dunlop has a Hunan cookbook I'd recommend to every chili head around. The cookbook is full of spicy recipes that use fresh and pickled chilies.

In it she has the two General Tso recipes from the originating chef, Peng Chang-kuei: the original version he made after fleeing to Taiwan with the Kuomintang, and the tweaked version he made for the American palate when he emigrated to the US. Googling, you can easily find the Taiwan recipe, but I can't seem to find her sweeter version.

She wrote a short history of the dish for Saveur, available here.
 
Awesome! Thank you guys for all the diff recipes and ideas etc! Can't wait to play around and try some of them!! Thanks again:)
 
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