General Tao's chicken recipe of greatness
I have a confession to make. I adore General Tao's chicken. When I was fresh out of high school and working at the 401 Richmond building, I used to go to Taste of Hong Kong for lunch weekly and buy their ultra-spicy and sweet General Tao's chicken - which came in such a large container I was usually able to eat it for lunch and bring it home for dinner (perfect for those irresponsible years when I would run home and sit on my computer until 2AM.) Needless to say, General Tao's chicken became a bit of an obsession and over the last year I have convinced Andrew to let me order Springrolls for dinner more and more to the point of foolishness.
Anyway. I made this recipe for dinner last night and it was absolutely fantastic. A few more tweaks and I will be able to say it's better than Springrolls' version. It's not very healthy, but I made it with brown rice and a metric fuckload of vegetables (carrots, broccoli, bok choy, onion.)
Marinade:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, thinly sliced
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 slices fresh ginger, smashed
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peanut oil, for frying
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cornstarch, plus 2 tablespoons for slurry
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
4 dried red Thai chilies
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 thick strips orange zest
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Steamed white rice, for serving
Put the chicken into a bowl with the remaining marinade ingredients. Stir well to combine all the flavors, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Heat 2 inches of peanut oil in a wok or deep skillet to 375 degrees F. Mix the egg, cornstarch, water, and sesame oil in a large bowl until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Add the marinated chicken and coat it well with the batter. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken pieces in batches until they are browned and crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels.
When you have fried all the chicken, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of oil. Over high heat, add the chilies, scallion, garlic, ginger, and orange zest. Stir-fry for 1 minute then pour in the soy sauce, chicken stock, vinegar, and honey and bring it to a boil. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth. Pour the slurry into the boiling sauce, in 2 additions, until the sauce thickens.
Add the chicken pieces and cook until they are heated through, about 2 more minutes. Garnish with scallions and cilantro leaves. Serve with white rice.
You'll die a little inside from the pleasure. It's so hot and spicy and all the different flavours just swirl around in your mouth.. I suspect this dish would do quite well if you mixed some tofu and onion together in place of chicken, but I don't really like tofu (except for when my Dad stir-fried it with chicken pieces) so you'll have to experiment.
Making this recipe was fun because I got to go to an Asian grocery store and spend a half hour wandering up and down the aisles, debating in my head if I was capable of doing something with dried mushrooms (consensus: no) and if I should give oyster sauce a try (why not! It's $1.39!) - I even bought myself a wooden steamer basket. Now I have to look for recipes which will accomodate these new spices/toys..
Anyway. I made this recipe for dinner last night and it was absolutely fantastic. A few more tweaks and I will be able to say it's better than Springrolls' version. It's not very healthy, but I made it with brown rice and a metric fuckload of vegetables (carrots, broccoli, bok choy, onion.)
Marinade:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, thinly sliced
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 slices fresh ginger, smashed
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peanut oil, for frying
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cornstarch, plus 2 tablespoons for slurry
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
4 dried red Thai chilies
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 thick strips orange zest
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Steamed white rice, for serving
Put the chicken into a bowl with the remaining marinade ingredients. Stir well to combine all the flavors, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Heat 2 inches of peanut oil in a wok or deep skillet to 375 degrees F. Mix the egg, cornstarch, water, and sesame oil in a large bowl until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Add the marinated chicken and coat it well with the batter. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken pieces in batches until they are browned and crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels.
When you have fried all the chicken, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of oil. Over high heat, add the chilies, scallion, garlic, ginger, and orange zest. Stir-fry for 1 minute then pour in the soy sauce, chicken stock, vinegar, and honey and bring it to a boil. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth. Pour the slurry into the boiling sauce, in 2 additions, until the sauce thickens.
Add the chicken pieces and cook until they are heated through, about 2 more minutes. Garnish with scallions and cilantro leaves. Serve with white rice.
You'll die a little inside from the pleasure. It's so hot and spicy and all the different flavours just swirl around in your mouth.. I suspect this dish would do quite well if you mixed some tofu and onion together in place of chicken, but I don't really like tofu (except for when my Dad stir-fried it with chicken pieces) so you'll have to experiment.
Making this recipe was fun because I got to go to an Asian grocery store and spend a half hour wandering up and down the aisles, debating in my head if I was capable of doing something with dried mushrooms (consensus: no) and if I should give oyster sauce a try (why not! It's $1.39!) - I even bought myself a wooden steamer basket. Now I have to look for recipes which will accomodate these new spices/toys..