Best General Zos Chicken Recipes

GENERAL TSAO'S CHICKEN II

Steps:

• Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken cubes; sprinkle with salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and white pepper; mix well. Mix in 1 cup of cornstarch a little bit at a time until the chicken cubes are well coated.
• In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until they turns golden brown and begin to float, about 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to cool as you fry the next batch. Once all of the chicken has been fried, refry the chicken, starting with the batch that was cooked first. Cook until the chicken turns deep golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the green onion, garlic, whole chiles, and orange zest. Cook and stir a minute or two until the garlic has turned golden and the chiles brighten. Add 1/2 cup sugar, the ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.
• Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into the water, and stir into the boiling sauce. Return to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy from the cornstarch, about 1 minute. Stir the chicken into the boiling sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes until the chicken absorbs some of the sauce.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken: In a large bowl, sprinkle the chicken with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the cornstarch and mix well.
• For the sweet sauce: In another bowl, add the stock, chili sauce, ketchup, light soy sauce, rice vinegar, yellow bean sauce, honey and dark soy sauce together and set aside.
• For the stir-fry: Heat a wok over high heat and when the wok starts to smoke, add the vegetable oil. Add the garlic and chicken pieces and let the chicken settle in the wok for 1 minute before stir-frying for another 2 minutes. As the chicken starts to turn opaque, add the rice wine and dried chilies and fry for a few seconds. Then add the sweet sauce mixture and cook for another 3 minutes. Cook the chicken in the sauce until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced, is slightly sticky and has a thicker consistency, another 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the scallions and peanuts and cook for less than 1 minute. Toss in the noodles and then transfer to a serving plate.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken: Place your broccoli florets in a medium bowl and add 2 tablespoons water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
• Heat the oil in a 4-quart (3.8-liter) Dutch oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) using a frying thermometer. Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Mix 1 1/2 cups (335 grams) of the tempura flour and 1 cup (240 milliliters) water into a thick batter. It should look like thick pancake batter. Dredge the chicken cubes in the 1 cup (223 grams) of tempura flour and then coat them in the batter. Fry them in two batches until golden brown and crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain the chicken on paper towels or a rack.
• Heat a wok or large skillet to high and add 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) of oil. When you see the first wisps of white smoke, stir in the fried chicken, onion, chiles, broccoli, and 1/3 of the ginger and garlic and cook them for about 30 seconds.
• For the sauce: While the chicken cooks, add the oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, sugar, white vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch slurry, red food coloring if using, 1/3 cup water and the remaining chopped ginger and garlic into a 1-quart (946-millileter) saucepan and bring the heat up to medium. Whisk gently as it comes to a simmer. Allow it to simmer and keep whisking it for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and reserve it.
• Stir in the sauce and allow it to coat the chicken and simmer. Cook it, folding all the ingredients until they are well coated, about 2 minutes. Garnish with the scallions.

INSTANT POT® GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, brown sugar, tomato paste, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Set sauce aside.
• Place egg in a shallow bowl. Place cornstarch in a second shallow bowl. Dip chicken pieces in egg, coat in cornstarch, then place on a plate.
• Turn on a multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot®) and select Saute function. Add olive oil and heat for about 1 minute. Add chicken in a single layer and cook until crisp, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate.
• Stir sesame seeds, garlic, and ginger paste into the pot. Whisk in chicken broth and the reserved sauce until combined; cook for 2 minutes. Press Cancel button. Add chicken to the pot and stir to coat.
• Close and lock the lid. Select high pressure according to manufacturer's instructions; set timer for 5 minutes. Allow 10 minutes for pressure to build.
• Release pressure using the quick release method according to manufacturer's instructions, about 5 minutes. Stir the chicken.
• Select Saute function again and cook until sauce has thickened, about 3 minutes.

GENERAL TSAO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• To Make Sauce: In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Mix together. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, 1/4 cup soy sauce and white wine vinegar. Then add chicken broth and monosodium glutamate and stir all together until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until needed.
• To Prepare Chicken: In a separate bowl, combine chicken, 1/2 cup soy sauce and white pepper. Stir in egg. Add 1 cup cornstarch and stir until chicken is evenly coated. Add oil to help separate chicken pieces. Divide chicken into small quantities and deep fry at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
• To Make Mixture: Place a small amount of oil in wok and heat until wok is hot. Add scallions and dried chile peppers and stir-fry briefly. Remove sauce from refrigerator and stir. Add sauce to wok. Then add fried chicken and cook until sauce thickens (add cornstarch or water as needed until sauce is as thick as you like it).

EASY GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss green beans with 1 Tbsp. oil, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until crisp-tender and blackened in spots, 12-15 minutes.
• Whisk cornstarch, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a large bowl. Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over high. Add chicken to cornstarch mixture and toss to coat. Cook half of chicken, turning occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and a light brown crust forms, 5-7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix honey, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, Sriracha, tomato paste, ginger, 3 Tbsp. water, and remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a medium bowl.
• Transfer chicken to a plate. Heat remaining 3 Tbsp. oil in skillet over high. Cook remaining chicken 5 minutes, then add chiles (you can add a few more depending on your heat preference) and cook, stirring and making sure chiles make contact with bottom of pan, until chicken is cooked through and chiles have toasted and puffed, about 1 minute more. Stir in honey mixture. Return first batch of chicken to skillet, toss to coat, and cook until sauce is reduced and thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Divide chicken and green beans among plates. Top with scallions. Serve with rice alongside.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place sauce ingredients in a quart jar with a lid and shake to mix. If you make this ahead of time just refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it. This also keeps your dirty dishes down.
• Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange but trust me it works. It will be VERY thick almost paste like. Add ALL the chicken pieces and stir to coat. Using a fork remove ONE chicken piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off. YES even though the mixture has a weird consistency it will not stick like paste and the excess will drip off. Add chicken to the hot (350 degree) oil and fry until crispy. Only cook 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time. You do not want to lower the temp of the oil by cooking too many at a time. You can use a simple cooking or candy thermometer to judge the temp of the oil.
• Drain on paper towels. Want them extra crispy? Put them on a rack over a sheet pan. Keep warm- I just put them in the oven with the oven off. Repeating until all chicken is fried.
• In a separate wok or large skillet add a small amount of oil and heat to 400 degrees. Again, a candy thermometer works great. (Want less dishes? You can just drain the oil after you fry all the chicken, leave a small amount (about a tsp) in the pan and use the same pan if you like.)
• Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.
• Stir (or shake jar) sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. Some reviews didn't kniw what "thick" meant. Thick like the same sauce you get at a restaurant.you want it to just coat the chicken. If it gets too thick, add a little water or other liquid. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.
• Add chicken to sauce in wok and heat just until the chicken is hot enough for you. It may not even need a minute if you kept the chicken warm. The quicker you serve it the crispier the chicken stays.
• Don't be scared by any negative reviews. It's not rocket science though if you have never cooked with a cornstarch slurry it may feel like an experiment. Trust yourself! You've got this! If you have any doubts reread the recipe and get everything in order before you start to cook. I promise you will thank yourself and maybe even me! Enjoy!
• Oh it's great served over rice!

JOE'S GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup of cornstarch until no lumps remain, then mix in the chicken until evenly coated in batter.
• In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until the chicken turns golden brown and begins to float, about 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the dried peppers, and cook for about 30 seconds until the color brightens. Add the chicken, and cook for a few minutes until the chicken turns a deep, golden brown. Stir the vinegar, rice wine, sugar, soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch together in a small bowl. Pour into the wok, and boil until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy, about 2 minutes. Garnish with green onions to serve.