An easy General Tso’s chicken recipe that yields crispy chicken without deep-frying. It also uses much less sugar while maintaining a great bold taste. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll skip takeout next time because it’s so easy to make in your own kitchen and the result is just as good. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Today I want to share my interpretation of General Tso’s Chicken that yields a great taste like the restaurant version, but is more practical for any cook to make in their home kitchen. The best things about this recipe are:
- You will use much less oil to cook the chicken. No deep-frying required. The chicken will end up super crispy and stay that way, even after it’s been tossed in the sauce.
- The tangy sauce is well balanced, rich, and sticky. It also uses less sugar than the mainstream recipes out there.
- No wok required! You can use a regular skillet to make this dish taste great.
Ingredients
What cut of chicken to use
I always prefer to use chicken thighs for General Tso’s chicken, because it yields a very juicy result without worrying about overcooking. Although you can use chicken breast and create awesome results, as well.
Just remember to cut the chicken into 1” to 1 1/4” (2.5 to 3 cm) pieces. The size of the chicken pieces matters because you want the surface to turn crispy with the inside just cooked through at the same time.
The best vinegar to use
Many General Tso’s chicken recipes call for rice vinegar. But if you really want the rich tangy taste like the restaurant version, you should use Chinkiang vinegar instead.
Chinkiang vinegar (Zhenjiang vinegar, 镇江香醋) is a type of Chinese black vinegar. It is made from various grains and is aged until the color turns dark brown or inky black. It has a rich, pungent, and tart flavor, sometimes with a hint of sweetness. It has a fermented malty taste and a woody character that distinguish it from the light-colored and fruity rice vinegar.
These days it’s quite easy to find it in an Asian market and even at regular grocery stores. You can also shop for it on Amazon.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
- Chopped aromatics (ginger, garlic)
- Marinated chicken coated with cornstarch
- Mixed sauce
- Dried chili pepper
How to cook General Tso’s Chicken
To cook General Tso’s chicken, you need to:
- Spread out the chicken pieces in a hot pan
- Pan fry the chicken until golden brown
- Transfer the cooked chicken onto a plate and let it cool off a bit
- Saute the aromatics
- Pour in the sauce
- Once the sauce thickens, add the chicken back and toss everything together.
Note, it’s very important to remove the chicken from the pan. Letting the chicken cool off a bit before adding it back into the skillet is a crucial step for keeping the coating crispy. Plus, your pan will become very hot after you fry the chicken. I usually remove the pan from the heat for a few seconds before adding the aromatics, so it won’t burn the ingredients.
How to make crispy chicken without deep frying
Here is the trick to creating crispy chicken with a crunchy coating that is like the takeout you’d get from Chinese restaurants, without making a mess.
Simply use the formula: oil + salt + egg + cornstarch
This combination creates a dry batter that is suitable for pan-frying. Normally, deep frying requires at least a few cups of oil. For this recipe, you only need a regular skillet and 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of oil to pan-fry the chicken. Not only does it yield an extra crispy exterior and juicy, flavorful meat, but the chicken also stays crispy even after you coat it with sauce.
Perfect party food
This General Tso’s chicken makes a great party food. The batter holds up really well and the chicken will remain crispy even if you let the dish sit for a while after cooking. If you’re hosting a dinner party and have multiple stir-fried dishes, you can make this one in advance and keep it in the oven on low heat until you’re ready to serve it.
This dish is so addictive that I can finish one pound of chicken in one sitting. I highly doubt you’ll have any leftovers when you cook it. But just in case you do need to reheat the dish, here is a good way. You can preheat your oven to 350 F and spread the chicken onto a baking dish. Once the chicken is heated through, it will be pretty crispy again.
More Chinese takeout recipes
- Kung Pao Shrimp (宫爆虾球)
- Beef with Oyster Sauce (蚝油牛肉)
- Chinese Lemon Chicken
- Crispy Peanut Butter Chicken
- Easy Egg Foo Young
- Salt and Pepper Chicken
General Tso’s Chicken (Crispy Chicken Without Deep-Frying)
Ingredients
- 1 lb(450 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs , cut into 1-inch (2-cm) pieces (or breasts)
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 egg , beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
Sauce (or pre-made General Tso’s Sauce)
- 1/3 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Stir fry
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 7 to 8 dried Chinese chili peppers (*Footnote)
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
Instructions
- Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set it aside.
- Combine the chicken pieces, vegetable oil, and salt in a big bowl. Mix well and let it marinate for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the beaten egg into the bowl with the chicken. Stir to mix well. Add the cornstarch. Stir to coat the chicken until it forms an uneven coating with a little dry cornstarch left unattached.
- Heat the stir-fry oil in a heavy-duty skillet until hot, until it just starts to smoke. Add the chicken all at once and spread it out into a single layer in the skillet. Separate the chicken pieces with a pair of tongs or chopsticks.
- Cook without touching the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bottom turns golden. Flip to brown the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a big plate and remove the pan from the stove. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Place the pan back onto the stove and turn to medium heat. You should still have 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. Add the dried chili pepper, garlic, and ginger. Cook and stir a few times until it releases its fragrance.
- Stir the sauce again to dissolve the cornstarch completely. Pour it into the pan. Stir and cook until it thickens, when you can draw a line on the bottom with a spatula without the sauce running back immediately.
- Add back the chicken pieces. Stir to coat the chicken with sauce, 30 seconds. Transfer everything to a plate immediately. Serve hot as a main dish.
Notes
- You can use dried Chinese or Korean chili peppers in the dish. They add aroma to the sauce but don’t really add spiciness. If you want the sauce to be spicy, you should cut the peppers in half to release the seeds. Or you can add a small pinch of cayenne pepper to the sauce mixture.
This has always been one of my daughter’s favorite Asian inspired dishes. It looks and sounds wonderful Maggie – no matter where it came from!
Loved this recipe I’ve always been a bit intimidated by stir fry as I’m a bit slow in the kitchen but I gave it a go and I’m glad I did, it’s the new kids favourite as well. Many thanks for the recipe and your website which is great.
Takeout Chinese is so awful, which is why I love your blog so much!
Thanks so much for another authentic recipe. It looks amazing!
If you mean authentic Chinese American(this dish was created in NYC) then yes you’d be right since you won’t find this dish in China. As for Chinese takeout being awful that’s a local problem not a general one. The few take out places in my area cook delicious food that is both traditional and not so traditional.
HAHA! I watched the documentary too! Fascinating! To this day, I still haven’t had General Tso’s chicken. I would love to give this recipe a try. 🙂
So happy to see you here Lokness! You need to try out General Tso’s chicken. So delicious 🙂
This!, every cook should make this dish once a week…
I simply love this Chinese dish.
the video differs from recipe.
no veggies as shown..
any way looks delicious
Hi Ravi, I shared an old video of sweet sour chicken that I’ve made before just to show the techniques. The two recipes do use slightly different ingredients, but I thought the video will be helpful since the general workflow is the same.
As a Malaysian Chinese, the first thing I thought to myself was, this is definitely not a Chinese dish and to learn to cook this classic dish the Chinese way was going to baffle me. But after reading it, I felt much more comfortable. Cuisines change and adapt to locality. This I know as a Malaysian Chinese. This dish looks good, no arguing there and uses very traditional Chinese flavours so I believe if anything you’re helping understand our culture a little more.
Hi Nicolas, I totally understand and I shared the same feeling too. The idea bothered me a bit because it is not a real Chinese dish that I’ve known. But I started to view it differently since I watched the documentary. There are quite a few sweet and sour dishes in China do use the same method and very similar sauce. Only we cooked with pork and shrimp, even fish, most of the time. But I’d give General Tso’s chicken credit if it made Chinese food more popular in the US 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. It was always one of my husband’s favorites. We don’t eat Chinese takeout any more, and this will give me an opportunity to make his favorite dish. Now, I just need to run to the local Asian store to pick up the two ingredients that I am missing.
I have not had General Tso’s chicken before either. As you said you cannot find this dish in China. I love your helpful hints to prepare this dish. I know my boys would love this but I might try to make the dish without frying..maybe just stir fry the chicken, .just because I am not real keen on the cleanup… LOL
Your chicken looks absolutely delicious, crispy, tasty and spicy! Amazing 🙂
Hey! Looks amazing! Do you think of any vegetarian options that could replace the chicken? Thanks 🙏🏾
Hi Hila,
I have a General Tso’s Tofu recipe that is vegetarian! Hope you like it!
Hi Maggie.this evening is my third time I cook this dish. It turned very well! Much better than the first two times.
Thank you very much for this recipe . Makes my dinner preparation very much simple!
Wow this was outstanding the time was way off but it is a party for the taste buds !
Awesome flavor profile !
So good. It’s in our dinner rotation. Thanks so much for posting this!
This is an incredible recipe. Definitely worth doing. The method makes the breading and pan frying really quick and easy compared to other methods. I strongly recommend this recipe. We are a gluten free family and it’s been amazing having gluten free Chinese food recipes we can make at home.
Thank you so much! I cheated and used store bought sauce but the checken came out fantastic! So crispy without deep frying. I’ll definitely be making it again.
Turned out great in my cast iron skillet!
I used around 4tsp chili flakes cause I didnt have dried chilis. I also substituted sugar for 1/4 cup honey
Great recipe 🙂
So crunchy, sweet, tangy, and like you said–highly addictive. And not a ton of oil. The other person at the table is lucky if they even get a morsel. I also made your char sui a while back and used a pork butt. Honestly Maggie, every recipe I’ve made has been delicious, and there are more to try!
Until now, Maggie, i never paid much attention to General Tso’s Chicken. Those days are over, thanks to your delicious and easy to prepare recipe. We couldn’t stop reaching for more. Thank you for posting this great rendition of a well-known dish. I will proudly serve it often.
I love that this is adaptable to make gluten-free. It is so delicious. This is a definite comfort food during this self-isolation.
I made this last night, I crowded the pan (on the list to get a larger frying pan) with the chicken pieces they still came out DELICIOUS. The sauce was so good. This recipe will be on the rotation. Next time I am going to try the Tofu version. Great instructions and photographs.
This is the best General Tso’s chicken I’ve ever had! Definitely a winner!!!
This version of General Tso’s Chicken is the exact flavor of General Tso’s Chicken you will get at the best Chinese restaurants.
I have been cooking Chinese cuisine for over 15 years now and only recently made General Tso’s Chicken for the first time, using Maggie’s recipe. I normally don’t order it at Chinese restaurants, but will steal a bite if my wife orders it. Among restaurants there are a million different versions of this recipe, but if you go to an authentic restaurant that also has a Sichuan chef, you will most likely be served the version Maggie described here. I personally have only liked this version of General Tso’s chicken. After making this recipe I see why. If you compare the General Tso sauce here to Maggie’s version of Sichuan beef sauce in the Real-Deal Szechuan Beef Stir Fry recipe, this General Tso’s sauce is the same as the Maggie’s Sichuan sauce, but with slightly less vinegar, slightly more sugar, and without homemade chili oil or Doubanjiang (it also uses chicken stock instead of beef stock).
If you end up liking this recipe, I strongly encourage you to also try out other recipes on the website such as the Real-Deal Kung Pao Chicken and the Real-Deal Szechuan Beef Stir Fry. The three recipes, including the current one, have the distinct rich bold flavor imparted by similar ratio of Chinkiang vinegar to the salty ingredients (light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and Doubanjiang) with some sugar.
Also, something interesting my wife pointed out: if you add corn starch to the meat-oil-egg-salt mixture, then stir to evenly coat the chicken before frying – the fried chicken tastes exactly like chicken nuggets. If you coat the meat-oil-egg-salt pieces individually in corn starch, then fry it, the result doesn’t taste like chicken nuggets. So if you cook for a party with different flavor preferences, you can knock out chicken nuggets and General Tso’s chicken in a single recipe 🙂
When I made this recipe, I decreased the starch amount and increased the heat level by adding a ground dried Thai pepper purely based on personal preference. This recipe is truly perfect, Maggie! Thank you very much!