General Guys Chinese Chicken Recipes

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken: Place your broccoli florets in a medium bowl and add 2 tablespoons water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
• Heat the oil in a 4-quart (3.8-liter) Dutch oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) using a frying thermometer. Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Mix 1 1/2 cups (335 grams) of the tempura flour and 1 cup (240 milliliters) water into a thick batter. It should look like thick pancake batter. Dredge the chicken cubes in the 1 cup (223 grams) of tempura flour and then coat them in the batter. Fry them in two batches until golden brown and crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain the chicken on paper towels or a rack.
• Heat a wok or large skillet to high and add 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) of oil. When you see the first wisps of white smoke, stir in the fried chicken, onion, chiles, broccoli, and 1/3 of the ginger and garlic and cook them for about 30 seconds.
• For the sauce: While the chicken cooks, add the oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, sugar, white vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch slurry, red food coloring if using, 1/3 cup water and the remaining chopped ginger and garlic into a 1-quart (946-millileter) saucepan and bring the heat up to medium. Whisk gently as it comes to a simmer. Allow it to simmer and keep whisking it for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and reserve it.
• Stir in the sauce and allow it to coat the chicken and simmer. Cook it, folding all the ingredients until they are well coated, about 2 minutes. Garnish with the scallions.

GRILLED GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Grill the chicken breasts until they are fully cooked.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, prepare the sauce mixture by combining the 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch with the wine, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, chili sauce, and broth.
• Heat the sesame oil in the wok or frying pan and add the sauce-mixture to the wok, tossing over the heat until the sauce caramelizes into a glaze (1-2 minutes).
• Cut chicken into bite size pieces, add it to the sauce and toss to coat.
• If you like the crunch often found in traditional General Tso's; sprinkle the Panko over top right before serving.
• Serve immediately.
• Serves 6, along with steamed broccoli and rice. We have doubled the sauce and added the cooked broccoli and that works great too!

GENERAL TAO CHICKEN

Steps:

• Coat the chicken pieces with 1/4 cup of cornstarch; set aside.
• Beat the eggs, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in the flour and baking powder until no large lumps remain. Mix in the chicken until evenly coated.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Drop in the chicken pieces; cook until golden brown and no longer pink on the inside, about 12 minutes. Set the chicken aside; keep warm.
• Reduce the heat to medium-high and stir in the sesame oil, ginger, and green onion. Cook and stir until the onion is limp and the ginger begins to brown, about 1 minute. Pour in the water, vinegar, and sugar; bring to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in the soy sauce and add to the simmering vinegar along with the oyster sauce and ketchup. Stir until the sauce has thickened and is no longer cloudy. Stir in the chicken and simmer until hot.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• MARINATING: Put all marinade ingredients into resealable zip plastic bag; seal and rotate to mix.
• Cut chicken into thin bite-size strips (approximate 2"x1/4"x1"), cutting across the grain of the meat.
• Put chicken in marinade and rotate to evenly coat chicken.
• Marinate for 20 minutes, turning once after 10 minutes.
• Remove chicken from marinade and drain well in colander, discarding marinade.
• STIR-FRYING: In a hot wok or frying pan, heat the oil on high, adding half the chicken to the hot pan.
• Stir fry about 2 minutes until chicken browns.
• With slotted spoon, remove chicken from hot pan and set aside.
• Repeat with remaining chicken.
• ***If you are using (optional) spring onions, stir-fry them now for about 1 minute.
• In hot pan, stir fry chili peppers for 10 seconds, adding a little more oil if needed.
• FINISHING WITH SAUCE: Add sauce ingredients to hot pan and stir fry about 2-3 minutes, or until sauce is thickened.
• Add chicken just to heat it (if using, add cooked green onions now) and toss with sauce.
• Serve over hot white rice or fried rice.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN (TSO CHUNG GAI)

Steps:

• Mix together egg, salt, black pepper, and cornstarch in a bowl.
• Add the chicken cubes; mix to coat, and marinate for at least 15 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, garlic, ginger,hoisin sauce, sugar, rice wine vinegar, and sherry for the sauce; reserve.
• Heat wok over high heat for a minute or so; add about 3 1/2-4 cups of peanut oil to wok, and heat to 350 degrees F.
• With tongs, remove chicken cubes individually from bowl, dust with 1 tbsp. cornstarch, shaking off excess, and place in the hot oil.
• Deep-fry chicken pieces for 1 1/2-2 minutes, until browned and crisp.
• turn off heat, and remove chicken with a wire strainer and drain over a bowl.
• Pour off all but 1 1/2 tbsp. of the oil from the wok.
• Heat the wok over high heat for 20-30 seconds; add the chilies and stir-fry for 15-20 seconds, then add the green onions, cooking for 30 seconds more.
• Add the chicken and cook, stirring, for 1 minute; remove all from wok and set aside.
• Stir sauce mixture into wok,stirring well, until sauce thickens into a nice glaze
• add chicken and chilis/onions back into the wok, stirring until everything is well coated, about 1 1/2-2 minutes.
• Place on platter; and garnish with steamed broccoli florets.
• Serve with rice.

MEAN GUY'S GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, thoroughly blend the 1/2 cup of cornstarch and the eggs; add the chicken and toss to coat.
• If the mixture is too thick, add some vegetable oil to separate the pieces.
• In a small bowl, prepare the sauce mixture by combining the 2 tsp cornstarch with the wine, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce.
• First-Stage Frying: Heat 1-2 inches of peanut oil in a wok to medium-high heat (350-400).
• Fry the chicken in small batches, just long enough to cook the chicken through.
• Remove the chicken to absorbent paper and allow to stand (this step can be performed well in advance, along with the sauce mixture, with both refrigerated).
• Second-Stage Frying: Leave a tablespoon or two of the oil in the wok.
• Add the pepper pods to the oil and stir-fry briefly, awakening the aroma but not burning them.
• Return the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until the pieces are crispy brown.
• The General's Favorite Sauce: Add the sauce-mixture to the wok, tossing over the heat until the sauce caramelizes into a glaze (1-2 minutes).
• Serve immediately.
• Serves 4, along with steamed broccoli and rice.