General Tso Chicken

To be honest, I don't remember the last time I had General Tso Chicken and it is my husband's favorite Chinese entree. I think this is the only entree that he order whenever we go to a Chinese restaurant. He likes it because of the variety of taste in one meal - sweet, tangy, spicy and the crunchy texture. I am not a fan of anything sweet on my meat but I decided to give it a try and twist the recipe I found on Food Gawker just a bit to make it my own General Tso! The result was quite tasty!

The recipe is simple if you love to cook Asian food because I'm sure you already have most of the ingredients in your pantry. If not, then I suggest you invest on some of these ingredients because they are inexpensive and you'll be able to use them with other Asian dish recipes.

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 4-6)

2 lbs breast of chicken (sliced in cubes)

6 jalapenos peppers sliced

4 teaspoons minced ginger

4 teaspoons minced garlic

6 cups of peanut oil or vegetable oil for deep frying

4 cups corn starch

1 pinch of sesame seeds for garnish

MARINADE THE CHICKEN (15 Minutes)
4 teaspoons soy sauce

4 teaspoons sesame oil

2 egg yolk

SAUCE:

3 tablespoons tomato paste and mixe with 2 tablespoons of water

2 teaspoons cornstarch

6 teaspoons white sugar

4 teaspoons soy sauce

4 teaspoons rice vinegar

6 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Mix ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

Toss the chicken in the corn starch in 4 batches to avoid clumping. Shake off excess cornstarch before frying. Heat the frying pan with oil until it is smoking a little bit. Add the first batch of chicken and deep fry until cooked through. Stir constantly to avoid burning.  Remove chicken with slotted ladle when it is medium brown and drain on paper towel. Repeat with the last 3 batch.

After all the chicken is cooked, heat a different frying pan and add 2 tablespoons of peanut or vegetable oil. Add the ginger, garlic and jalapeno peppers and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add the sauce mixture and stir until it thickens. Add the chicken and stir well to coat with sauce. Transfer the chicken to a big platter and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with steam rice and your choice of salad or veggies.