Published May 27, 2020.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This General Tso’s Chicken is a delicious bite-sized fried chicken tossed in a zesty chile sauce and served with sesame seeds and green onions.
We love getting creative in the kitchen every week and absolutely appreciate easy recipes like this one, as well as other dishes like beef stroganoff or a classic sloppy joe.
What is It
This decades-old recipe for General Tso’s chicken was created in an upscale Taiwanese restaurant in the 1950s and quickly became popularized throughout the world, especially in America. The original version was not deep-fried and oftentimes features whole parts of chicken with the skin and bone still intact.
While the dish is named after a Hunanese general, there was no such recipe available during his days in the mid 19th century. The modernized dish as we know it today in the United States features a sour, slightly sweet, spicy, and salty sauce that is tossed with bite-size pieces of marinated fried chicken.
Is It the Same as Orange Chicken?
While both of these recipes use bite-sized pieces of fried chicken and similar cooking procedures, the sauces are very different.
- Orange Chicken: The sauce for this uses ginger, garlic, brown sugar, sugar, orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, and water and is very sweet with a big orange flavor.
- General Tso: The sauce for this uses ginger, onion, garlic, sugar, honey, vinegar, water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Thai chiles and has a unique combination of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy flavors. In addition, the chicken is marinated before frying.
No matter what Asian-inspired dishes I create, I often turn to Lee Kum Kee, which has a wide assortment of Asian-style sauces and condiments. It’s always delicious and always readily available from my local grocery store.
How to Make General Tso Chicken from Scratch
Follow these quick steps to make this amazing recipe:
Marinate bite-size pieces of chicken in a bowl with Lee Kum Kee Pure Sesame Oil, sugar, soy sauce, egg, salt, and pepper, and coat until combined. Refrigerate while preparing everything else
For the sauce, thinly slice some onions, ginger, and garlic and set aside.
In a separate bowl whisk together water, rice vinegar, sugar, honey, Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Oyster Flavored Sauce, and dried Thai chiles and set aside.
Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and mix with cornstarch and flour until completely combined.
Add 1 piece of chicken at a time to a large wok with oil at 350°, cook the chicken in two batches to not overcrowd the pan causing the chicken to stick together.
Set the chicken aside on paper towels to drain off any excess oil.
Drain off the oil from the wok and add in a little more Lee Kum Kee Pure Sesame Oil and stir fry the onions, ginger, and garlic over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until very lightly browned.
Add in the general Tso’s sauce and bring to a boil. Thicken with slurry to make it thick.
Toss the fried chicken in the sauce and serve with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 1 hour ahead of time but keep the chicken separate from the sauce. Keep both of them warm before tossing and serving.
How to Reheat: Add some sesame oil to a large wok over medium heat and add your desired amount of general Tso’s chicken to the wok and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until hot. You can also cook in a microwave-safe bowl until hot.
How to Store: Cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This will not freeze well.
chef notes + tips
- You can absolutely use a combination of white meat or dark meat or just one or the other. Be sure to remove the bone and skins before cutting them into bite-size pieces.
- When mixing the flour and corn starch in with the marinated chicken, the batter should resemble a thick tempura-style batter.
- To make a slurry mix together 1 tablespoon of water with 1 tablespoon of corn starch until combined.
More Amazing Chinese Inspired Recipes:
- Beef Stir-Fry
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Steamed Fish
- Drunken Noodles
- Mongolian Beef
Video
Save
General Tso’s Chicken Recipe
5 from 16 votes
This General Tso’s Chicken is a delicious bite-sized fried chicken tossed in a zesty sauce and served with sesame seeds and green onions.
Servings: 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 7-9 ounce chicken breasts cut into ½” pieces
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons Lee Kum Kee Pure Sesame oil
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup corn starch
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Oil for frying
For the Sauce:
- ¼ thinly sliced yellow onion
- 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
- ½ ” piece thinly sliced peeled fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Oyster Flavored Sauce
- 10-12 dried mild Thai chiles
- 2 tablespoons Lee Kum Kee Pure Sesame oil
- slurry: 1 tablespoon water mixed with 1 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
For the chicken in a large bowl toss the chicken with the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, egg, salt, and pepper until combined and place in the refrigerator while prepping up everything else.
For the sauce whisk together the vinegar, water, soy sauce, sugar, honey, oyster sauce, and Thai chiles until combined and set aside.
Next, take the chicken out of the fridge and mix it with corn starch and flour until completely combined and then add 1 piece of chicken at a time until half of it is in a deep fryer or a large pot or wok with cooking oil at 350°. Cook the chicken in 2 batches so that it does not stick together.
Set the chicken aside on a plate or sheet tray lined with paper towels to drain off any excess oil.
For the sauce, drain off all of the frying oil and add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and stir fry the onions, garlic, and ginger over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
Next, add the pre-mixed sauce into the wok and bring to a boil. Immediately pour in the water mixed with corn starch and mix to thicken the sauce.
Once thick, add in the cooked fried chicken and toss until coated in the sauce.
Serve with sesame seeds and green onions.
Notes
Chef Notes:
- Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 1 hour ahead of time but keep the chicken separate from the sauce. Keep both of them warm before tossing and serving.
- How to Reheat: Add some sesame oil to a large wok over medium heat and add your desired amount of general Tso’s chicken to the wok and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until hot. You can also cook in a microwave-safe bowl until hot.
- How to Store: Cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This will not freeze well.
- You can absolutely use a combination of white meat or dark meat or just one or the other. Be sure to remove the bone and skins before cutting into bite-size pieces.
- When mixing the flour and corn starch in with the marinated chicken, the batter should resemble a thick tempura-style batter.
- To make a slurry mix together 1 tablespoon of water with 1 tablespoon of corn starch until combined.
Nutrition
Calories: 272kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 13gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 1232mgPotassium: 237mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 111IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 1mg
Course: dinner, Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Author: Chef Billy Parisi
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43 comments
- Jetch
Excellet!
- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
Thanks!
- Reply
- Joanne Hepler
Perfect recipe, didn’t change a thing.
- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
thanks!
- Reply
- Rocco
Yes i did make this and it came out better then expected iam looking forward to making this again. Thanks for sharing your recipe
- Reply
- Jennifer Oshiki
Delish!!
- Reply
many thanks!
- Reply
- Karen Carron
This was WAY BETTER than take out! My hubby likes his spicier than I do so I was able to do that with no problem! Our son, who lives in Massachusetts, even asked for the recipe, now he’s a fan!
- Reply
excellent!
- Reply
- Rhonda
Delicious! Much better than any takeout ♥️♥️
- Reply
yes indeed!
- Reply
- Doris
Can you use all corn starch to bread the chicken or use gluten free mix 1:1 flour in place of the flour? Trying to do this gluten free. Love your recipes and videos! They are so helpful!
- Reply
GF isn’t really my area of expertise and without testing it myself I can’t be certain.
- Reply
- Robin Graviet
Amazing!
- Reply
Thank you!
- Reply
- Bob Coleman
This was the first if your recipes that I made after my favorite chinese takeout closed. It is so much better homemade
- Reply
- Emily Hansen-Kiss
I have a seafood allergy. What would you substitute for the oyster flavored sauce?
- Reply
There is no substitute for that, unfortunately. sorry.
- Reply
- Karen
Sorry to hear that there is no substitute because I also have a shellfish allergy. I would love to make this for my son-in-law for his birthday since it’s his favorite. Can I just leave it out?
- Reply
It’s a major ingredient in the dish, and will certainly alter the flavor if left out.
- Reply
- Dombrowski Elaine
Chinese food recipes “scare” me, but, following along with Chef Billy’s video is like having you right next to me. Love the videos, you give me confidence!! And, the General Tao’s was a hit, albeit a lot of steps.
- Reply
- John Schmid
I just made this tonight. It was delicious. We like it a little more spicy so next time I will add some red pepper flakes. I put it over some and made your roasted zucchini on the side.
- Reply
- Debbi Robertson
Well, that was certainly a hit! And with the addition of the sesame seeds and green onions at the end, the presentation was as beautiful as it was delicious. I know where my next new recipes are gonna come from! Thank you, Chef!
- Reply
- Babs
Chef, what could I substitute the Thai chilis with?
Red pepper flakes?
Thai chili paste?- Reply
You could use pepper flakes.
- Reply
- Babs
How much red pepper flakes to substitute for thai chili peppers?
- Reply
without testing it, I’m not 100% sure.
- Reply
- Heidi
I made this recipe last night and we were blown away at how delicious it was!
- Reply
- Mia
This recipe is amazing. If I could give it 10 stars I would.
- Reply
- Morrisa Guay
Made this for dinner tonight! My kids and husband loved it! I added red pepper flakes, because we cannot handle heat. Thank you for sharing your recipes. I also made your cobbler this week using blueberries, it was a hit as well!! ❤️🙏🏻
- Reply
- Donna
How much oil do you think you pit into your wok, and what do I do with the oil after frying? Thank you.
- Reply
maybe a 1/3 at a time. You can strain and reuse at a later date or toss it.
- Reply
- Camille
What chile would you recommend for those who like it spicy?
- Reply
just a normal Thai chile, most are spicy unless specified.
- Reply
- Rachelle Fox
This was my first time trying a Chef Billy recipe and it turned out great! I highly recommend!!!!
- Reply
- Kimberly Key
Can you recommend a good wok. Want to start cooking asian but I don’t have a wok.
Thank you
- Reply
- Debbie Carpan
Wow! This was SO good! I will definitely make it again, thank you!😊
- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
my pleasure!
- Reply
- Bar Ebner
I just made it and it is AMAZING!!
Thank you chef Billy for sharing the recipe. Love watching your videos, very easy to follow! 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌❤️- Reply
- Ryan Larrabee
Wow! I have been craving Chinese food for a while and have been afraid to go out… this was the absolute perfect timing for this recipe. I was blown away with how good this was…Crispy,spicy, sweet, And sour… it had everything. Thank you Billy Parisi for yet another awesome recipe!
- Reply
- Rehab
Thank you chef Billy
Looks incredible!- Reply
