Overseas Chinese Cuisine · FFET10289
General Tso's chicken
General Tso's chicken is a Chinese-American restaurant dish of fried chicken pieces, created in Taipei by a Hunan-born chef and made popular in New York.
A round white porcelain plate holds fried boneless chicken thigh pieces coated in glossy brown sauce, mixed with red dried chilies, garlic and green broccoli, with wooden chopsticks resting along the edge of the plate.
Food carried abroad by Chinese emigrants and still regarded as Chinese, with dishes abroad of clear Chinese origin.
General Tso's chicken is a Chinese-American restaurant dish of chicken pieces coated in starch and fried crisp, then tossed in a sweet, savory, mildly hot sauce and often served with broccoli. Reports from 2016 describe its creation by a Hunan-born chef working in Taipei, who later took it to New York. It was never part of the Chinese culinary tradition and is not a traditional dish of Hunan. The early 1950s date for the original version comes only from the chef's recollections; no document from that time was found.
What
General Tso's chicken is a Chinese-American dish: starch-coated, crisp-fried chicken thigh pieces in a glossy, sweet, savory, tangy, mildly hot sauce with dried chilies, often served with broccoli.1,4,5
When
The early 1950s date for the original version in Taipei and its creation on the 3rd day of several days of banquets for a senior American military visitor come from the chef's recollections; reports disagree on the guest's identity. He took the dish to New York in 1973, and it became popular there in the 1970s. A New York restaurateur separately claimed that a crispy New York version existed in 1972.1,2,3
Where
It was created in Taipei by a Hunan-born chef and made popular in New York. Its home is in restaurants in Taiwan and the United States, and it is not a traditional dish of Hunan. The American version is sweeter than the Taipei original.1,2,3
How
Chicken thigh pieces are marinated, coated in cornstarch and fried (2 times in one recipe), then tossed in a sauce of stock, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, garlic and dried chilies.4,5
Why
The dish is named for Zuo Zongtang (1812 to 1885), a statesman and general from Hunan. The available material does not show that he ever ate or knew the dish.1,2,3
Impact and influence
It became a common dish on Chinese-American takeout menus, and a 2014 documentary traces its story.1,2,3,4
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
General Tso's chicken is a Chinese-American restaurant dish and not a traditional dish of Hunan, and what I make at home is a simplified version of the sweet and mildly hot takeout style. Two signed recipes are my reference: recipe A's steps are not numbered, and recipe B has numbered steps. The chicken, flour and sugar amounts follow recipe A. The amounts of stock and soy sauce for the sauce sit between the two recipes, and the vinegar follows recipe B. The frying temperature and times follow recipe A, and the other amounts and methods are my own choices at home. At home I use ordinary vegetable oil, not peanut oil. The conversions from pounds, cups and tablespoons to grams and milliliters are mine.
Ingredients
- Boneless chicken thighs 450 g, cut into pieces of about 2.5 cm
- Light soy sauce (for marinating) 1 tablespoon
- Cornstarch (for coating) about 30 g (1/4 cup)
- All-purpose flour 1 tablespoon
- Chicken stock about 120 ml
- Light soy sauce (for the sauce) 2 tablespoons
- Brown sugar about 45 g (3 1/2 tablespoons)
- Rice vinegar 1 tablespoon
- Cornstarch (for thickening) 1 teaspoon, stirred into 2 tablespoons water
- Dried chilies 5 to 6
- Garlic 2 cloves, minced
- Broccoli about 300 g, cut into florets
- Vegetable oil about 500 ml for frying, plus 1 tablespoon for the sauce
Steps
- Toss the chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and marinate for 30 minutes, the time recipe B gives. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels before marinating.
- Mix 30 g of cornstarch and the tablespoon of flour on a plate, press each chicken piece into it and shake off the excess.
- For the sauce, stir the stock, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, brown sugar and rice vinegar together, and keep the starch and water mixture to one side.
- Heat the oil to about 170 degrees Celsius, as recipe A does. Fry the chicken in batches for about 5 minutes and lift it out, then let the oil heat up again and fry it a second time for 3 to 5 minutes, as recipe A does, until golden and crisp. I cut open a large piece to check: it is cooked through when there is no raw pink inside and the juices run clear.
- Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for about 2 minutes and drain it.
- Pour off the frying oil and leave 1 tablespoon in the pan. Fry the dried chilies and garlic for about 30 seconds without letting them burn, pour in the sauce and bring it to a boil, stir in the starch mixture and simmer for about 2 minutes, the time recipe B gives, until the sauce is glossy and thick.
- Add the fried chicken and toss for half a minute so the sauce coats it evenly. Serve with the broccoli and rice.
Tips
- Hot oil spits when it meets water, so before frying I always pat the chicken dry and shake off the extra coating, and I choose a deep pan; this is my own practice.
- I use the dried chilies whole for a mild heat; to make it hotter, snip them open before frying. This is my own choice of taste.
Allergens: soy, wheat