General Tso's Chicken

As I've stated in a previous post, I sure do love chinese food. If my tummy is not calling out for cashew chicken, then it's most definitely calling out for General Tso's Chicken. Again, thanks Gary (my late brother), b/c if it weren't for you I'd still be eating spareribs only. Who is General Tso? I don't know, but would love to know. Please, respond with any thoughts :). Anyway, when cooked right the dish has an amazingly sweet and spicy sauce that glazes succulent and tender crispy chunks of chicken. Now how good does that sound? I've often had this dish served to me gummy and tasteless, tasting not sweet nor spicy, but follow this recipe and you will be sure to impress all your family and friends. Enjoy!!!

Side Note: Often times, when making chinese dishes, the recipe calls for many ingredients. Don't be alarmed and immediately get flustered. It's not as hard as it may seem. Also, many ingredients you may already have in your pantry and some of these items, such as soy sauce, cornstarch, and white vinegar are used sparingly so you can get many uses out of them. Most importantly, remember... it's just food. Have fun!!

Ingredients:

Marinade and Sauce

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup white vinegar

3 TB soy sauce

3 TB sugar

2 TB cornstarch

1 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast; cut into 1 inch pieces

vegetable/canola oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 TB fresh ginger, grated

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

green onions (optional) for garnish

Coating and Frying

3 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups cornstarch

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

4 cups (about) veg/canola oil

Directions: (Serves 4)

For the Marinade and Sauce: Whisk the hoisin, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and water in a bowl. Combine 6 TB of the marinade mixture and the chicken and place in a zip lock bag; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat a couple of TBspoons of oil in a large skillet/wok over medium heat until hot. Cook the garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of the hoisin mixture (the rest will be used in the next step) and simmer, whisking constantly, until dark brown and thickened; about 2 minutes. Cover and keep warm.

For Coating and Frying: Whisk the egg whites in a dish until foamy. In another bowl, combine the cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and remaining hoisin mixture. Work it until it looks like coarse meal. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat chicken dry. Toss half of the chicken with egg whites until well coated then dredge the chicken in the cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer the coated chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Heat the oil in a large pot for deep frying over medium high heat until the temperature reaches roughly 350 degrees. Fry half of chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes. You may have to turn pieces over to ensure even browning. Return temperature back to 350 degrees and then repeat for rest of chicken.

To serve: Warm the sauce over medium-low heat until simmering; add the crisp chicken and toss to coat. Add some green onions for some nice color. Serve over white rice and enjoy!!!

****A couple of pointers to ensure success!!!

Read over the recipe a few times before starting. It really helps to have an understanding of what's needs to be done next and so on. I remember in Culinary School, I had to write each recipe for that day down into a notebook before coming to class. It really helps to have knowledge of all the ingredients that are going to be used and what the steps are to complete the dish. Ultimately, there shouldn't be any surprises.

Also, have all your mise en place in order... Whoa!!!!! What did I just say? Mise en place is a french phrase meaning to have "everything in place". Before you start cooking have everything that you need ready to go. Have all your ingredients measured out and have all your pots ready to go. This will make such a difference and will make your cooking experience so much less stressful.

Most importantly, have fun. It's just food :).