General Tsos Chicken Dish (Printable)

Crispy chicken pieces tossed in a sweet, tangy, and mildly spicy sauce, served over steamed rice.

# Ingredient List:

→ Chicken

01 - 1.3 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
02 - 2 large eggs
03 - 1 tbsp soy sauce
04 - 1 tsp sesame oil
05 - 1/4 tsp white pepper
06 - 1 cup cornstarch
07 - 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
08 - Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

→ Sauce

09 - 1/2 cup chicken broth
10 - 3 tbsp soy sauce
11 - 2 tbsp rice vinegar
12 - 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
13 - 3 tbsp sugar
14 - 1 tbsp cornstarch
15 - 1 tbsp water (for slurry)
16 - 2 tsp sesame oil
17 - 1 tbsp Chinese Shaoxing wine (optional)

→ Stir-fry & Garnish

18 - 2 tbsp vegetable oil
19 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
20 - 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
21 - 6–8 dried red chilies or 1–2 tsp chili flakes
22 - 2 spring onions, sliced
23 - Steamed white rice, for serving
24 - Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

# Directions:

01 - Whisk eggs, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and white pepper in a large bowl. Toss chicken pieces in the mixture until evenly coated.
02 - Combine cornstarch and all-purpose flour in a shallow dish. Dredge each chicken piece in the mixture, shaking off excess.
03 - Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan or wok to 350°F. Fry chicken in batches for 4–5 minutes until golden and crisp. Drain on a wire rack or paper towels.
04 - In a small bowl, mix chicken broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and Shaoxing wine if using. Stir cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water to form a slurry, then add to the sauce mixture.
05 - Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a clean wok or skillet over medium heat. Add dried chilies, garlic, and ginger; stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
06 - Pour sauce mixture into wok and cook, stirring, until thick and glossy, about 2–3 minutes.
07 - Add fried chicken to the wok and toss thoroughly to coat each piece with sauce.
08 - Plate chicken immediately over steamed white rice. Garnish with sliced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The chicken stays impossibly crispy on the outside while staying tender inside, even if it sits for a few minutes.
  • You control the heat, so it's genuinely spicy or just gently warming depending on your mood that night.
  • The sauce coats everything without being swimming-in-liquid heavy, which is harder to achieve than it sounds.
02 -
  • If your sauce breaks and becomes grainy, you cooked it too long or on too high heat—the cornstarch seized up, and there's no fixing it mid-cook.
  • Don't fry the chicken ahead and wait to sauce it; the crispy coating absorbs moisture and turns chewy within ten minutes of sitting.
  • The magic of the sauce is the balance of salt, acid, sweetness, and umami, so taste as you go—if something tastes flat, it's usually the soy sauce that needs adjusting slightly upward.
03 -
  • Oil temperature is everything—invest in a cheap thermometer if you don't have one, because guessing leads to either greasy chicken or undercooked interiors.
  • Make your sauce while the chicken fries so everything comes together at the exact right moment instead of you standing around waiting for one component.
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