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This homemade General Tso’s Chicken recipe combines crispy boneless skinless chicken thigh pieces and the most flavorful sticky sauce! It is easy to make and so much better than anything you’ll find in a restaurant. The sauce is packed full of flavor and only takes a few ingredients to come together. Serve over rice with your favorite vegetable for a fantastic simple stove top dinner your family will love!
And if you love quick and easy chicken stir fry recipes, be sure to try my Moo Goo Gai Pan, Cashew Chicken, Hunan Chicken, or Beef and Broccoli.
What is General Tso’s Chicken?
If you’ve ever ordered Orange Chicken at a Chinese restaurant, this is basically the Westernized version. And, like with all recipes, I put my own spin on it.
If the pictures lured you in, allow me to explain how it tastes. Each bite of chicken has a wonderful crispy texture. This is accomplished by coating bite sized pieces of boneless skinless chicken thighs in cornstarch and frying, so no random bites of chicken skin!
Then, a simple sweet and sticky sauce is added to the hot pan and instantly thickens. Each bite of chicken is then smothered in the sauce. Perfection! My other favorite recipe that uses chicken thighs and a sticky sauce is my Oven Baked Chicken with Apricot Sauce.
Why this recipe is so great:
- Better than a restaurant! It tastes just as good, if not better, than what you’d get in a restaurant, but since it’s homemade, you have complete control over the quality of the ingredients.
- Quick and easy – This Chinese inspired chicken dinner really only takes minutes to prepare and cook, so it makes a wonderful option for a buys weekday family dinner.
- It just tastes so good. This is honestly my family’s favorite dinner right now and there are never any leftovers!
Ingredients needed to make this recipe:
There are essentially two main components to this recipe: the chicken and the General Tso sauce.
To cook the chicken:
- Chicken thighs – I use boneless skinless thighs and remove any bit of fat (personal preference) as I cut them into bite sized pieces
- Cornstarch – you’ll need enough to fully coat each piece of chicken
- Oil – I use avocado oil but any oil that can tolerate high heat will work
For the General Tso Sauce:
- Rice vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Sugar – you can decrease or increase the amount listed in the recipe, but I found this added just the right amount of sweetness
- Hoisin sauce
- Cornstarch – a small amount is needed to thicken
- Garlic, ginger, and red chili flakes
- Water – this is needed to thin the sauce a bit prior to heating
How to make General Tso’s Chicken:
Full ingredient list and detailed step by step instructions are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.
- Prepare the chicken: Remove any unwanted bits and slice into bite sized pieces
- Coat in cornstarch: Use a bag or a large dish to fully coat each chicken piece
- Cook chicken: Flip only once and your goal is to get each piece golden brown
- Heat the sauce: Remove the chicken from the pan along with any excess oil and add the sauce ingredients
- Coat the chicken: Put the cooked chicken pieces back in the pan with the sauce and stir to coat each piece
- Garnish: I love serving General Tso’s Chicken with some sliced green onions and sesame seeds
Cooking tips for best results:
- Do not over crowd: The amount of chicken I made barely fit in the pan. You want to ensure that each piece of chicken is touching the bottom of the pan in order for it to brown properly.
- Double the recipe: This recipe is good for a hungry family of four, but can easily be doubled. Just double or triple the recipe, cook the chicken in batches, and once it’s all done you can toss it in the sauce.
- Leftovers and reheating: Doubtful you’ll have any leftovers, but if you do, store them in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave at 50% power in one minute increments, stirring after each minute, until heated through.
What to serve with General Tso’s Chicken:
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thigh fat trimmed and thighs cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/4 cup cornstarch more or less, just need enough to lightly coat all chicken pieces
- 1/4 cup avocado oil or any other kind of stir fry oil, amount can vary but you need enough to generously coat the bottom of your pan
For the Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons ginger minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1/4 cup water
For the garnish:
- sliced green onions
- sesame seeds
Instructions
Cook the chicken:
- Coat all of the 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thigh pieces in the 1/4 cup cornstarch.
- Using a large sauté pan over medium high to high heat, add 1/4 cup avocado oil. When oil is extremely hot, add chicken pieces with excess corn starch shaken off to pan in a single layer. If needed, you can cook in batches. Allow to cook until golden brown on bottom, then flip to cook other side. Once both sides are golden brown, you can shake pan to loosen and distribute oil just to make sure all sides are crisp.
- When chicken is done, transfer to a separate plate and discard excess oil, leaving a thin layer to coat the bottom of the pan.
Make the sauce:
- While the chicken is cooking, combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 teaspoons ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, 1/4 cup water
- Using the pan you cooked the chicken in over medium heat, add the sauce and stir while scraping the bottom of the pan to release anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Sauce will thicken in just a couple minutes.
Combine sauce and chicken:
- As soon as the sauce thickens, reduce the heat to low, add the cooked chicken, and gently toss to coat in the sauce.
- Serve immediately with sliced green onions and sesame seeds as garnish, if desired.
Notes
- Do not over crowd: The amount of chicken I made barely fit in the pan. You want to ensure that each piece of chicken is touching the bottom of the pan in order for it to brown properly.
- Double the recipe: This recipe is good for a hungry family of four, but can easily be doubled. Just double or triple the recipe, cook the chicken in batches, and once it’s all done you can toss it in the sauce.
- Leftovers and reheating: Doubtful you’ll have any leftovers, but if you do, store them in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave at 50% power in one minute increments, stirring after each minute, until heated through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We loved it! And you’re right, there weren’t any leftovers!
Would this work with regular chicken breasts?
I’ve made it both ways – with thighs and breasts. It definitely works, but I much prefer the taste and texture of the thigh meat in this recipe.
Tried this for the first time tonight. It was delicious! Enjoyed making it! Family said it’s great!
Yay! We make this one all the time. I have to take it out of rotation because we make it so often that we get sick of it.
I love General Tso Chicken and can’t wait to cook this recipe.
Thanks
This is one of those recipes I have on regular rotation. I feel like the more I make it, the better it gets.
Excellent. Savory and superior to the years of sweet and sticky Tso’s I’ve eaten over the years at various restaurants. I made it with brown rice and I’ll add broccoli next time.
A total tantalizing, yummy meal!
It looks very easy to make
Well I made General Tso chicken and with a few add ins it came out perfect. I want to say I think I love you lol.
Hahaha. Best comment ever. And this is one of my favorite recipes… I’ve made it MANY times.
I have never found an online or cookbook Asian recipe that tastes just like a good restaurant!!!
Thank you! It’s one of my favorite recipes and we pretty much make it every week.
Amazing!! Thank you
Delicious! Thank you!