#HOME MADE GENERAL TAO SAUCE FREE#

When you’re ready to cook, your table should have: These days it’s quite easy to find it in an Asian market and even at regular grocery stores. It has a fermented malty taste and a woody character that distinguish it from the light-colored and fruity rice vinegar. It has a rich, pungent, and tart flavor, sometimes with a hint of sweetness. It is made from various grains and is aged until the color turns dark brown or inky black. But if you really want the rich tangy taste like the restaurant version, you should use Chinkiang vinegar instead.Ĭhinkiang vinegar (Zhenjiang vinegar, 镇江香醋 ) is a type of Chinese black vinegar. Many General Tso’s chicken recipes call for rice vinegar. 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. Just remember to cut the chicken into 1” to 1 1/4” (2.5 to 3 cm) pieces. Although you can use chicken breast and create awesome results, as well. I always prefer to use chicken thighs for General Tso’s chicken, because it yields a very juicy result without worrying about overcooking.

No wok required! You can use a regular skillet to make this dish taste great.

It also uses less sugar than the mainstream recipes out there.

The tangy sauce is well balanced, rich, and sticky.

The chicken will end up super crispy and stay that way, even after it’s been tossed in the sauce. You will use much less oil to cook the chicken.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. 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.

It also uses much less sugar while maintaining a great bold taste. As long as your sauce is very hot, simply tossing the chicken in the hot sauce will be sufficient to re-warm the chicken.An easy General Tso’s chicken recipe that yields crispy chicken without deep-frying. Keep your fried, crispy chicken and your sauce apart until right ready to serve, so the chicken stays crispy. Make sure your carrots are sliced paper thin, or they won’t cook up in the sauce. I enjoy this dish both traditionally batter and fried and sauced up, but when I don’t feel like frying up the chicken, I just pan sauté without battering it and then simmer it in the sauce, for a lighter, quicker and easier version. For garnish, sesame seeds and sliced green onion are nice. You will also need – Soy sauce, sesame oil (optional), cornstarch (for the batter and for thickening the sauce), one egg, if battering the chicken and finally, cooking oil, if frying. If you don’t any broth on hand, you can substitute hot water, though you will be sacrificing some flavour with this substitution. Adjust the amount added to your taste.Ĭhicken Broth – You could substitute vegetable broth here, if you like. Straight up white distilled vinegar would probably work, though it is a bit more forward, so I would reduce the amount slightly.Īsian Chili Garlic Sauce – This sauce is easily available in the Asian sauce section of most grocery stores these days. Vinegar – Rice (or Rice Wine) vinegar is the best choice here, though white wine vinegar is a decent substitution.

#HOME MADE GENERAL TAO SAUCE FREE#

Feel free to experiment to find your own sweet spot :) Somewhere between 1/3-1/2 cup is the sweet spot for us (pun intended), but you may find you can go even lower. But tastes change and over the years, I have gradually reduced it. White Sugar – When I first started making this recipe many, many years ago, it started with 3/4 of a cup of white sugar in the sauce. Chicken – you’ll need boneless/skinless chicken, either boneless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs.

Home made general tao sauce