This recipe for General Tso’s chicken is battered crispy chicken pieces tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce. A take-out classic that’s simple to make at home and even better than what you’d get in a restaurant!
My family loves Chinese food, and I’ve set out to recreate all their favorite recipes at home. I often make crab rangoon, chicken lettuce wraps and this irresistible crispy General Tso’s chicken.
General Tso’s chicken is one of my all time favorite Chinese food dishes. I love that it’s crispy, with a hint of sweet and a hint of spicy. I’ve started making this recipe at home when we’re craving Asian food, but don’t want to take the time to go to a restaurant. It’s been a huge hit, both with the kids and the adults!
What is General Tso’s chicken?
This chicken dis is a popular Chinese entree made with fried chicken pieces coated in a sweet and slightly spicy sauce. This chicken is similar to sesame chicken, but the sauce has a little more heat and a more complex savory flavor. It is often served with a side of steamed broccoli.
How do you make General Tso’s chicken?
This dish starts with cubes of chicken that are battered and deep fried until golden brown. The chicken pieces are tossed in a sauce made with soy sauce, garlic, red chili flakes and hoisin sauce. The final step is to add a sprinkle of sesame seeds and green onions, then serve and enjoy.
Tips for this chicken recipe
- Be careful not to fry too many pieces of chicken at the same time to avoid the pieces sticking or clumping together. I typically fry about 6-8 pieces at a time.
- To increase the spiciness of your chicken, feel free to add more red pepper flakes. If you want, you can also include some whole dried red chili peppers.
- This chicken is best served immediately, as the coating will absorb the sauce and get softer as it sits.
- Use a frying thermometer to make sure your oil stays at 350 degrees F. If the oil is too hot, the outside of the chicken can burn before the inside cooks through. If the oil is too cold, the chicken will absorb more oil and be heavy and greasy.
- You can use chicken breasts instead of thighs if you prefer, although thighs are the more traditional choice.
What is the difference between orange chicken and General Tso’s chicken?
While, General Tso’s chicken and orange chicken are both delicious Chinese stir fries, they are very different dishes. They both have golden fried chicken pieces in a sweet sauce, but General Tso’s chicken has a more savory flavor relying on soy sauce, chili flakes and chicken broth. Orange chicken is sweeter, has orange juice in the sauce and has a lighter colored sauce.
I love to make this sweet and spicy chicken at home. There is something about enjoying those crispy chicken pieces hot and coated with freshly made sauce that I can’t resist. Don’t bother with take out and instead give this recipe a try!
More delicious Chinese food recipes
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Korean Fried Chicken
- Mongolian Chicken
- Chicken and Green Beans
- Sweet Chili Chicken
General Tso's Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- vegetable oil for frying
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons green onions sliced
For the sauce:
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or more to taste
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a bowl; add salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix together the flour and corn starch and place in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
- Heat 3 inches of oil in a deep pot to 350 degrees F.
- Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture, then coat in the flour mixture. Repeat the process for all of the chicken pieces.
- Fry 8-9 pieces of chicken at a time for 5 minutes or until browned. Repeat with all the remaining chicken.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce.
- Heat the 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds.
- Whisk together the chicken broth, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce and corn starch.
- Add the liquid mixture to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until sauce has thickened.
- Add the chicken pieces to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions and serve.
Gia says
Question: it says to consume right after cooking because the chicken soak up the sauce and will get soggy. Is it possible to not mix the sauce until you’re ready to eat the dish?
Sara says
Yes that should be fine!
Jordan says
Was my first time trying General Chicken and this was a great start! This may just have been a user error but the chicken didn’t get very crispy like I thought it would before the chicken inside started to overcook so it wasn’t the crispiest. But the sauce was so good! I can’t help but to alter recipes so we added a bit of rice vinegar and some ginger (at beginning with garlic and red pepper). Will definitely make this again and try to tweak the breading and def double the red pepper flakes it seemed spicy in the pan alone but once added to the chicken it got a lot more mild (my 3 year old could eat mild) and I like a little heat!
Kamika says
I found potato starch makes a crisper coating than the corn starch. You can also take out some flour and replace with more potato starch. And thick soy sauce makes it more of a glaze so it doesn’t soak as fast. I like mine a bit sticky. But to each is own. Great feasting!
Diane says
Made this for dinner tonight, I followed the recipe to the letter and I am here to say it was DELICIOUS! Someone had commented it was like teriyaki which almost swayed me not to make it, I am not a teriyaki fan. This was not at all like teriyaki. The only thing as I was cleaning up I saw the sesame seeds sitting on the counter. Oh well, there will be a next time for sure! Thanks.
Stephanie Arke says
Very delish. It didn’t taste like General Tso to me, more like a teriyaki. but the family loved it. will make again
Ed says
Great recipe!
I married into a Chinese family so when I take on a chinese dish, i’m swimming in deep water! But this one, with some rice and bok-choi, came off to perfection and I’m really thrilled.
Jennifer says
Amazing! Made for the first time tonight and my picky boyfriend gave it a 10 out of 10 and asked when are we having it again! So easy and delicious!
Cindy says
You’ve done it again Sara. It’s an extremely rare occurrence for me to try another person’s recipe, when looking up something new, which for me is around 4-5 days a week. I always come back to you. This was no different. Read a million on the net, came back to you. For me, the clincher was that there was no vinegar. Unlike 99% of Americans, I can’t stand vinegar at all, so of course, again, I went with yours!! It was insanely delicious, and I will be making this forever more. Thanks so much for such a delicious and easy recipe. As for the person who commented on the sugar, there’s many a Chinese sauce that calls for sugar, as well as, many other kinds of cooking!!
Amanda says
Just made this i already had a sauce but the chicken turned out very tasty i used chicken breast. My family loved it
Sam says
Going to try this recipe soon, but i just have one question. Many other recipes have vinegar, what makes this one different without the vinegar? Curious if this is a lot sweeter compared to the others? Thanks!
Sara says
I don’t consider this dish to be overly sweet but you could try adding vinegar if you prefer it that way!
Bobbie says
I can’t wait to make this tonight!
Gretchen says
This is one of my favourite recipes I’ve made from your site!! I recently purchased an air fryer and I wanted to know if you had a guide on how to make the same breaded chicken for this!
Sara says
I actually haven’t tried this one in an air fryer, you could try coating the breaded chicken pieces in cooking spray then adding them to the air fryer.
Judi says
I have made this recipe twice. Tonight it will make it thrice!! We
Srinivasan says
I have made this recipe a few times now and everyone loved it