GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN
1 Lb. chicken breasts (cut into 1" pieces)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. "lite" soy sauce
1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 c. white distilled vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed (I just use refrigerated minced garlic)
1 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. cornstarch, mixed with 3 Tbsp. water
4 green onions, sliced
Dredge chicken in flour and fry in oil over medium heat (in a wok or a skillet) until golden brown and crispy. Drain excess oil. Sprinkle cayenne over the chicken and keep warm on low heat. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sauce ingredients (sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, and ginger) and heat gently. When sauce is smooth and sugar has dissolved, SLOWLY add cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until sauce has thickened to desired thickness. Pour sauce in the wok and stir to coat chicken. Stir in green onion and hot red pepper flakes (optional). Remove from heat and serve.
*I cut some of the chicken into small strips too for variety. I used regular soy sauce at just under ¼ cup.
*Disclaimer: This dish is extremely flavorful - tangy and spicy. If those aren't your style you may want to steer clear of this one. You can play with the heat of the dish with the hot pepper flakes but the cayenne pepper really helps to balance the VERY tangy flavor of the sauce so I wouldn't recommended reducing or eliminating it.
2 comments:
I'm pretty sure I did something wrong, because the sauce was way too sour. Thanks for the recipe, anyway!
Yaz - the sauce is generally a bit sour until you add the cornstarch. (Due to the vinegar, especially). Did you remember to add the sugar? Also, you have to stir it for quite a while after adding the conrstarch mixture to it. The sauce should look thick to you by the time it is finished. If you remembered to do all of these things I'm not sure what else may have gone wrong! If you try it again I hope it turns out better next time!
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