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    Home » Recipes » Chicken

    General Tso's Chicken

    Published: April 20, 2021 · Updated: April 20, 2021 · By: Krissy · 4 Comments
    This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    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!

    the best homemade General Tso's Chicken Recipe

    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!

    close up of homemade General Tso's Chicken

    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
    ingredients needed to make General Tso's Chicken

    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.

    1. Prepare the chicken: Remove any unwanted bits and slice into bite sized pieces
    2. Coat in cornstarch: Use a bag or a large dish to fully coat each chicken piece
    3. Cook chicken: Flip only once and your goal is to get each piece golden brown
    4. Heat the sauce: Remove the chicken from the pan along with any excess oil and add the sauce ingredients
    5. Coat the chicken: Put the cooked chicken pieces back in the pan with the sauce and stir to coat each piece
    6. Garnish: I love serving General Tso's Chicken with some sliced green onions and sesame seeds
    • boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into small pieces
      cut chicken into bite sized pieces
    • coating chicken thigh pieces in corn starch
      coat chicken in corn starch
    • chicken thigh pieces coated in corn starch cooking in oil
      cook chicken in hot oil
    • crispy cooked chicken thigh pieces fried in cornstarch
      chicken done when golden brown
    • General Tso's sauce in pan
      add sauce to hot pan
    • cooked chicken pieces with General Tso's sauce in pan
      coat cooked chicken in sauce

    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.
    oval dish with General Tso's Chicken Recipe over rice with green onions

    What to serve with General Tso's Chicken:

    • Asian Roasted Broccoli
    • Asian Ramen Noodles
    • Spicy Peanut Asian Slaw
    • Kimchi Fried Rice
    • Garlic Bok Choy
    • Chinese style, dry fried garlic green beans

    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 General Tso's Chicken.

    If you’ve made this or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out. I love hearing from my readers!

    You can also follow along on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes to satisfy any foodie craving!

    General Tso's Chicken on rice

    General Tso Chicken

    This homemade General Tso's Chicken recipe combines crispy boneless skinless chicken thigh pieces and the most flavorful sticky sauce!
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate SaveSaved!
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Asian
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Hover to scale: 4 servings
    Chef: Krissy Allori

    Ingredients

    For the chicken:

    • 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (fat trimmed and thighs cut into bite sized pieces)
    • ¼ cup cornstarch (more or less, just need enough to lightly coat all chicken pieces)
    • ¼ 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)
    • ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
    • ¼ cup water

    For the garnish:

    • Sliced green onions
    • Sesame seeds

    Instructions

    Cook the chicken:

    • Coat all of the chicken pieces in the corn starch.
      coating chicken thigh pieces in corn starch
    • Using a large sauté pan over medium high to high heat, add 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.
      crispy cooked chicken thigh pieces fried in cornstarch
    • 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.
    • 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.
      General Tso's sauce in pan

    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.
      cooked chicken pieces with General Tso's sauce in pan
    • 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 INFORMATION

    Calories: 407kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 162mg | Sodium: 977mg | Potassium: 466mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 2mg
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jennifer

      May 01, 2022 at 3:51 pm

      5 stars
      I have never found an online or cookbook Asian recipe that tastes just like a good restaurant!!!

      Reply
      • Krissy

        May 04, 2022 at 6:03 am

        Thank you! It's one of my favorite recipes and we pretty much make it every week.

        Reply
    2. Victoria

      March 13, 2022 at 3:08 pm

      Amazing!! Thank you

      Reply
    3. Denise

      May 16, 2021 at 3:15 pm

      Delicious! Thank you!

      Reply

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