General Tso's Chicken(左宗棠鸡)

General Tso's Chicken is a classic Chinese dish known for its crispy chicken coated in a thick, savory sauce that is irresistibly delicious. Paired with fluffy white rice, it's an unforgettable culinary experience.

5 Reviews
6 Comments
POSTED:27/06/2024
Level:Medium
Yield:2-3 servings
Total:40 min
(includes chilling time)
Active:8 min

General Tso's Chicken perfectly blends sweet, salty, spicy, and sour flavors with a crispy texture. Many people, after trying it at a Chinese restaurant, often want to recreate it at home but find the results less than ideal. Today, I plan to share with you the authentic recipe for General Tso's Chicken that my grandfather taught me. We are from a traditional Hunanese family in China, and General Tso's Chicken is a specialty dish from Hunan province.


1.About General Tso's Chicken

General Tso's Chicken, also known as "Zuo Zongtang Chicken," is a traditional specialty from Hunan Province, China, belonging to Hunan cuisine. It primarily uses chicken thighs, fried and then stir-fried with dried red chilies, eggs, and other ingredients. The dish is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, with a vibrant color and delicious taste.

Legend has it that in 1952, during the visit of Admiral Arthur W. Radford, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, to Taiwan, he was hosted by Admiral Liang Xuzhao, who arranged three days of banquets. Chef Peng Changgui was tasked with preparing different dishes each day. On the third day, to offer a change of taste, Peng cut chicken into large pieces, fried them to a golden brown, then stir-fried them with sauce and spices, creating a new dish. When Radford asked for the name of the dish, Peng, being from Hunan and wanting a name with a strong association to Hunan, spontaneously named it "Zuo Zongtang Chicken."

In 1973, Peng Changgui opened a restaurant named Peng's Garden in the United States. During one occasion, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger dined at Peng's Garden and praised the "General Tso's Chicken." This event was extensively covered by media such as The Washington Post and The New York Times, propelling the dish to fame and establishing it as one of the most popular Chinese dishes in the United States.


2.What's in General Tso's Chicken?

Making General Tso's Chicken involves three main steps:

Sauce/Marinade: To achieve tender chicken, the chicken is first marinated using a mixture that serves both as a marinade and a thick, sticky sauce to coat the chicken.

Crispy Chicken: For a crispy texture, the key is to coat the chicken with an appropriate amount of cornstarch or corn flour and then deep-fry it in oil until crispy.

Stir-frying: General Tso's Chicken is renowned for its aromatic flavor. Before stir-frying, onions, ginger, and garlic are sautéed to release their flavors, enhancing the chicken's taste. The chicken is then stir-fried and coated with the thick sauce, resulting in a fantastic dish.


3. Do you have to use chicken thighs to make General Tso's Chicken?

Since authentic General Tso's Chicken traditionally uses chicken thighs, it's best to use this cut if you're planning to make the dish. Chicken thighs are readily available for purchase in supermarkets and Chinese grocery stores.


4. What flour is used for General Tso's Chicken?

As mentioned earlier, to achieve a crispy texture for the chicken, it's necessary to coat the chicken with a layer of flour before frying. It's generally recommended to use cornstarch because it is a good thickening agent. In Chinese cuisine, cornstarch mixed with water forms a thickening agent known as "slurry" or "cornstarch slurry," commonly used to thicken sauces.


5. Why isn't General Tso's Chicken popular in China?

Although General Tso's Chicken originates from Hunan Province, China, you'll find that it's not widely consumed within China itself. This is primarily due to its origin and the path of its dissemination. The dish was originally created by a chef named Peng Changgui from Hunan in 1949. When he later refined the dish in the United States, it took on a sweeter and stickier flavor profile to cater to American tastes.

The popularity of General Tso's Chicken in the United States partly stems from its creator's adaptation of traditional Hunan cuisine to Western preferences, creating a dish that bridges cultural and culinary boundaries. It has not only become widely beloved in the United States but also well-known among food enthusiasts worldwide, serving as a cultural ambassador showcasing the diversity and inclusiveness of Chinese cuisine.


6. What should you eat with General Tso's Chicken?

General Tso's Chicken pairs well with rice, making it an excellent choice for a meal. It's recommended to enjoy it with steamed white rice, as the crispy chicken and thick sauce complement the rice perfectly, creating a delightful flavor. In addition to rice, you can also pair it with broccoli, salad, or other vegetables.


Having covered so much about General Tso's Chicken recipes, I believe you now have a comprehensive understanding of it. Let's now try making this delicious and flavorful dish together!

INGREDIENTS

MAIN INGREDIENTS

  • 250g chicken thigh meat
  • 2 taro roots
  • 1 egg

ACCESSORIES

  • Half a green bell pepper
  • 2 slices ginger
  • 2 dried red chilies
  • 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 50g all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

SEASONINGS

  • 10g of salt
  • 1 tablespoon of ground pepper
  • 15ml of rice vinegar
  • 5g of granulated sugar
  • 30ml of soy sauce

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Prepare all the necessary ingredients. Wash and cut the taro into pieces for later use.

Tip:

I added taro to this dish. If you don't like taro, you can skip this step and omit it.

Instructions to prepare taro for a dish along with a tip on optional use.

STEP 2

Take out the chicken thigh meat, remove the skin, and debone the chicken thigh.

Tip:

Deboning chicken thighs: Hold the chicken thigh at both ends, gently twist, and then use a knife to cut around the joint at the end to easily remove the bone.

Remove skin and debone chicken thigh: twist, cut around joint to remove bone. #CookingTips

STEP 3

Wash the chicken thigh meat thoroughly, cut it into pieces, and set aside.

Prepare chicken thigh meat by washing, cutting into pieces, and setting aside.

STEP 4

Prepare the vegetables: Cut the green bell pepper and shiitake mushrooms into pieces and set aside.

Prepare vegetables by cutting green bell pepper and shiitake mushrooms.

STEP 5

Marinate the chicken thigh meat: Add 3g of salt, 3g of ground pepper to the chicken thigh meat, then crack in one egg, and mix well to remove the odor and enhance the flavor.

Tip:

Marinate the chicken thigh meat for about 15 minutes.

Marinate chicken thigh meat with salt, pepper, and egg; let sit for 15 minutes.

STEP 6

After 15 minutes, add 50g of flour to the marinated chicken thigh meat.

Add 50g of flour to marinated chicken thigh meat after 15 minutes.

STEP 7

Mix well until it forms a batter-like consistency.

Mix ingredients until batter-like consistency forms.

STEP 8

Heat oil in a pan and deep-fry the chicken pieces until golden brown and crispy. Remove and set aside.

Deep-fry chicken in oil until golden brown and crispy.

STEP 9

Sprinkle a little dry cornstarch on the surface of the taro pieces.

Coat taro pieces with dry cornstarch for a crispy texture.

STEP 10

Deep-fry the taro pieces until golden brown and crispy. Remove and set aside.

Deep-fry taro pieces until golden and crispy.

STEP 11

Combine the fried chicken pieces and taro together and set aside.

Combine fried chicken pieces with taro and set aside.

STEP 12

Prepare the sauce in a bowl: Mix 5g of salt, 5g of sugar, 30ml of soy sauce, 15ml of rice vinegar, 15ml of tomato sauce, 10g of cornstarch, and 150ml of water until well combined. Set aside.

Recipe for a tangy sauce: Combine salt, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, tomato sauce, cornstarch, and water.

STEP 13

Heat oil in a pan again, leaving a little oil at the bottom. Sauté minced garlic, ginger julienne, and dried red chilies until fragrant.

Sauté garlic, ginger, and red chilies in a little oil until fragrant.

STEP 14

Add green bell pepper slices and shiitake mushroom pieces, stir-frying until softened.

Stir-frying green bell pepper slices and shiitake mushrooms until softened.

STEP 15

Pour in the prepared sauce mixture and simmer until it reaches the desired thickness.

Simmer prepared sauce until desired thickness is achieved.

STEP 16

Add the fried chicken pieces and taro pieces.

Instruction to add fried chicken and taro pieces.

STEP 17

Stir-fry until everything is well coated.

Stir-fry until well coated.

STEP 18

Remove from heat and serve.

Remove from heat and serve.

Recipe analyzer

  • Recipes: General Tso's Chicken(左宗棠鸡)
  • Main Ingredients:10
  • Servings per recipe:1
  • Servings size:751 g
Nutritional Summary of Recipe
Amount per 751 g= 1 serving(s)
  • Energy (calories):987 kcal
    45%
  • Protein:67.36 g
    123%
  • Fat:16.95 g Why gray?
    35%
  • Carbohydrates:141.33 g
    58%
Calorie breakdown
  • Protein: 28%
    276 kcal
  • Fat: 15%
    151 kcal
  • Carbohydrates: 57%
    562 kcal
The chart shows the percentage of calories intake (energy) coming from the respective macronutrients (fats, protein and carbohydrates).
Omega 6 : Omega 3
1:1
20:1
12:1
Both fatty acids are essential, but nowadays the majority of western diets include excessive amounts of Omega 6 acid.

The ratio shows whether the proportion of both fatty acids in your diet is optimal. Red color means too much of Omega 6 or too little of Omega 3. The data are rounded off and approximate.

5 REVIEWS

Review
Your rating:
KyleOctober 09, 2024

What should I do if I tend to batter the pan when frying the sauce?
reply:
October 11, 2024
When stir-frying the sauce, use low heat and keep stirring to avoid the sauce staying at the bottom of the pan for too long and getting mushy.
IvySeptember 25, 2024

Zuo Zong Tang Chicken is one of my favorite Chinese dishes now, it's so good.
GabrielSeptember 14, 2024

I really love Zuo Zong Tang Chicken and will make it more often.
JessicaJuly 23, 2024

This recipe taught me how to make crispy, juicy, authentic tasting Leftover Chicken at home, and it just made me feel like a chef!
JohanJune 30, 2024

Home version of Zuozongtang chicken, sweet and sour, replicating the flavor of the restaurant.
jennieJune 30, 2024

Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sweet and sour, spicy and appetizing Zuo Zong Tang Chicken!
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