This one is a little spicy. Not crazy spicy, but I'd bet it's more of an adult meal. Fine by me because we got to eat it all! I'm used to a sweeter version in restaurants, but this was way better with just a hint of sweetness to it.
Sorry there are so many random ingredients in this one, though. We're very blessed to have an amazing International section at the Commissary, so I didn't have trouble finding them. They're actually pretty common ingredients for many of the Asian recipes I've been saving lately, so I didn't mind trying some new things since I'll be using them often instead of letting it take up space on my fridge door. Hope you feel the same way and can find them all just as easily!
I did have to make a few changes again. I substituted apple juice for the sherry (I read somewhere that you can use vanilla extract too, but I wasn't sure what that would taste like). And I did cut down the hoisin sauce to 1 tablespoon. I have only made one other meal with hoisin sauce, and I made the mistake of smelling it straight from the jar. I truly thought I was going to die. Fermented soybeans do not smell good. Who knew? I couldn't get the smell out of my nose, and I hated the whole meal because all I could taste was the hoisin sauce. I wasn't going to ruin this one by putting in that much. I think one tablespoon flavored it perfectly this time. I could still pick out the flavor, but in a good way. So, if you're not used to cooking with hoisin sauce either, I'd stick to the 1 tablespoon. And don't smell it. I also didn't have any scallions or even green onions. (I had to start over my jar of never-ending green onions. Long story.) Ridiculous, I know, but that's why they're missing from the picture. Next time!
Printable Recipe
General Tso’s Chicken
from From Away
2 tablespoons dry white sherry or apple juice
1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (it's a kind of hot sauce)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
Peanut oil, for frying (I used canola oil like always)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced, or 1/4 tsp dried
6-8 “Japonese” dried red whole chilis (ours were with the Hispanic foods in a HUGE bag)
3 scallions, white and green parts, cut into half-inch chunks
Steamed rice (we used 4 cups prepared)
In a small bowl, combine chicken stock, soy sauce, vinegar, hoisin, Sriracha, sesame oil, sugar, and 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch. Stir until smooth.
When ready to cook, drain chicken, then toss to coat evenly with remaining 1/3 cup of cornstarch. Chicken should have a dry coating of cornstarch; add a little more if coating seems moist.
In a wok or a large skillet over medium heat, bring oil to 325 degrees. Add chicken in batches and cook, stirring often, until chicken is brown on all sides, about 4-5 minutes. (It took me four batches to cook it all. The meat will cook more evenly if you don't overload your wok.)
When each batch is done, remove from wok and drain on paper towels.
Pour most of the oil out of the skillet, until only a thin coating remains in the pan.
Add garlic and ginger to pan and stir until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
Add whole chilies, chicken pieces, and scallion pieces, and toss to combine.
Add sauce and simmer, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, becomes shiny, and evenly coats chicken.
Top with more sliced scallions and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Makes 4 or 5 servings
Serve with: Egg Rolls
I was going to ask you what sriracha sauce is...good thing you beat me to the punch.
ReplyDeleteI think I looked it up before I went to the store. I had no idea either, but supposedly it's all the rage of the food blog community. For whatever that's worth.
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