Back to Chinese
General Tso’s Chicken
Serves 4 Prep 15 min Cook 5 min Total 20 min Type Meal Origin Chinese

General Tso’s Chicken

The Chinese-American sweet-spicy classic: battered chicken cubes deep-fried crisp and tossed in a sticky soy-vinegar-sugar-chilli sauce.

Serves 4 Prep 15 minutes Cook 5 minutes Units Rate

Overview

This iconic American-Chinese dish combines deep-fried chicken with a sweet, spicy, and slightly tangy sauce. General Tso's chicken exemplifies the bold flavours of outside China Chinese cooking, where heat from dried chillies, sweetness from sugar, and complexity from vinegar create a sauce that is bold yet balanced. Restaurant-quality results require proper oil temperature and crispy, well-coated chicken.

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

Chicken & Coating

  • 455g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cubed)
  • 240ml rice wine
  • 60ml soy sauce
  • 125g flour
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 litres vegetable oil (for frying)

Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (grated)
  • 45g dried chili pod
  • 60ml rice wine
  • 60ml soy sauce
  • 60ml rice wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar substitute)
  • 50g sugar

Thickener & Garnish

  • ½ tablespoon cornstarch (mixed with ½ tablespoon water)
  • 35g spring onion (chopped)
  • White rice for serving

Method

Stage 1 - Marinate Chicken

  1. In a large bowl, combine rice wine, soy sauce and cubed chicken thighs.
  2. Stir, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour.

Stage 2 - Prepare Coating

  1. In a separate large bowl, combine flour and salt.
  2. Remove chicken from marinade and place in flour mixture.
  3. Mix thoroughly until all chicken pieces are evenly coated.

Stage 3 - Deep-Fry

  1. Fill a large pot at least 5 cm deep with vegetable oil.
  2. Heat oil to 185°C.
  3. Place chicken pieces in frying oil, stirring occasionally.
  4. Fry until golden brown, roughly 4-5 minutes.
  5. Remove chicken from oil and set aside to drain on paper towels or a wire rack.

Stage 4 - Make Sauce

  1. In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
  2. Add garlic and ginger, stirring frequently for one minute.
  3. Add dried chili pods and continue stirring for 30 seconds.
  4. Add rice wine, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sugar.
  5. Stir occasionally until mixture is bubbling.
  6. Add cornstarch slurry, stirring frequently. The sauce should thicken in a minute or less.

Stage 5 - Combine & Serve

  1. Add cooked chicken pieces, stirring them to coat with the sauce.
  2. Remove from heat.
  3. Garnish with green onions.
  4. Serve with white rice.

Notes

  • Oil temperature: Critical for crispy exterior and cooked-through interior. Use a thermometer for accuracy.
  • Chicken thighs: Provide more flavour and stay moist. Breast meat can dry out easily.
  • Dried chili peppers: Add fruitiness and heat. Adjust quantity based on desired spiciness.
  • Cornstarch slurry: Ensures smooth, glossy sauce without lumps.

Serving

Serve with: Steamed white rice to balance the bold sauce

Storage

  • Best served immediately for optimal crispness
  • Keeps 1-2 days refrigerated (chicken softens; sauce keeps well)
  • Not recommended for freezing (coating texture deteriorates significantly)

More like this

1 / 4
Cantonese BBQ Chicken

Cantonese BBQ Chicken

This is summer-BBQ adaptation of the lacquered red roast meats that hang in the windows of Cantonese siu mei shops. The marinade borrows from char siu (hoisin, soy, Shaoxing wine, five-spice, fermented bean curd, garlic, ginger) but pulls back on the sugar slightly because chicken does not need as much sweetness as pork shoulder. Bone-in skin-on thighs are the right cut: they stay juicy on the grill, the skin renders down and crisps, and the bones give the meat shape. A two-stage glaze does the rest. The thighs cook over indirect heat first to render the fat and set the meat, then move directly over the coals for the last few minutes while a honey-maltose mixture is brushed on repeatedly. Every brush of glaze caramelises, blackens slightly at the edges, then gets brushed again. The result is sticky-shiny with a smell that is half five-spice, half woodsmoke. Difficulty is low if you control your heat. A two-zone fire (one side coals piled high, the other side empty) is the only real requirement; on a gas grill, two burners on full and one off does the same job. Serve sliced over plain rice with sliced cucumber and a spoon of chilli oil, or stuffed into bao with hoisin and spring onion.

Chinese 4 hours 40 minutes Serves4
Kung Pao Shrimp

Kung Pao Shrimp

Kung pao (gongbao) shrimp is the seafood cousin of the classic Sichuan gongbao jiding, named for the 19th-century governor-general Ding Baozhen whose title was Gong Bao. Where the chicken version uses diced meat, the shrimp version keeps the prawns whole or halved so they curl into bright pink commas around the chillies and peanuts. The flavour profile is the signature Sichuan "lychee" balance: a touch of sweetness from sugar, sourness from black vinegar, salt and umami from soy, and the warm tingle (ma la) of toasted Sichuan peppercorn paired with the smoky bite of dried er jing tiao chillies. This is a fast dish, fundamentally a wok exercise: every ingredient must be prepped and lined up before the heat goes on, because once the chillies hit the oil you have maybe ninety seconds before everything is overcooked. Difficulty is moderate for a home cook with a working wok and high burner; the trick is keeping the chillies dark red and fragrant without scorching them black, and pulling the shrimp out the moment they curl. Served over plain rice it is one of the most rewarding ten-minute meals in the repertoire.

Chinese 28 minutes Serves3-4