General Tso's Chicken: Better Than Takeout and Ready in 30 Minutes
General Tso's chicken is crispy fried chicken tossed in a glossy, sweet-spicy sauce made from soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin, and dried chilies. You can have it on the table in about 30 minutes, and it tastes better than most takeout versions because you control the heat, the sweetness, and the crunch. The secret is a two-step process: get the chicken properly coated and fried first, then work fast with the sauce so it clings rather than soaks.
This is one of those recipes that sounds more complicated than it is. Once you make it once, you'll have it memorized.
What You'll Need
Ingredients
For the sauce, gather up soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, sugar, sesame oil, chicken broth, and cornstarch. The hoisin is the ingredient people sometimes skip, and they shouldn't. It gives the sauce that deep, slightly sweet backbone that makes it taste like something you'd order from a restaurant. Dried whole red chilies go in the pan for heat and flavor, and fresh garlic and ginger are non-negotiable.
For frying, a neutral oil like vegetable or canola works best. You'll need enough to fill a heavy skillet or wok about an inch deep.
The Coating That Actually Stays Crispy
The key to General Tso's chicken that holds its crunch even after being sauced is the cornstarch-heavy coating. Mix together 3/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl, toss your chicken pieces with one egg white and a splash of soy sauce. Then dredge each piece in the cornstarch mixture, pressing lightly so it adheres.
Let the coated chicken sit on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before frying. This short rest helps the coating set so it doesn't slide off in the oil. You'll notice the coating looks a little shaggy and uneven, and that's exactly what you want. Those rough edges turn into the craggy, crispy bits that catch the sauce.
How to Fry It Right
Heat your oil to 350°F. A candy or fry thermometer takes the guesswork out of this completely. If you don't have one, drop a small piece of coating into the oil. If it sizzles and floats right away, you're ready.
Fry the chicken in batches. Crowding the pan drops the oil temperature and you'll end up with greasy, soft chicken instead of crispy. Two minutes per side is usually enough for pieces that size. Pull them out with a spider strainer or slotted spoon and set them on a paper towel-lined plate.
If you want extra crunch, fry them a second time for about 60 seconds after all the pieces have had their first fry. The double fry method is popular in restaurant kitchens because it gives you that shatteringly crispy exterior that holds up to sauce.
Making the Sauce
Mix your sauce ingredients together before you start cooking so everything is ready to go. Combine 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons hoisin, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 cup chicken broth, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved.
Drain most of the frying oil from your pan, leaving about a tablespoon. Heat it over medium-high and add 6 to 8 dried whole red chilies (break a couple open if you want more heat), 3 minced garlic cloves, and a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger. Cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Pour in your sauce mixture and let it come to a simmer. It will thicken within a minute or two.
Add the fried chicken back to the pan and toss to coat. Work quickly here so the coating stays crisp. The chicken should be glazed, not drowning.
Serving and Storing
Serve immediately over steamed white rice, topped with thinly sliced green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Broccoli steamed and tossed in sesame oil on the side turns this into a full meal and gives you something to swipe through the extra sauce on your plate.
Leftovers are good but honest: the coating softens overnight in the fridge. To reheat and get some crunch back, spread the chicken on a baking sheet and pop it into a 400°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes rather than microwaving it. The sauce will loosen back up as it heats.
This recipe also scales up well for a crowd. Double the chicken, make the sauce in batches rather than doubling it all at once, and fry in multiple rounds. The sauce comes together so fast that making two smaller batches is faster and more reliable than trying to sauce a huge amount of chicken at once.
A Few Ways to Make It Your Own
The sweetness level is personal. Some people love a sauce that leans sweeter, closer to what you'd get from a typical American Chinese takeout spot. Others want more vinegar tang and heat. Start with the recipe as written and adjust from there. A little more vinegar brightens it. More sugar rounds out the edges. More chilies or a teaspoon of chili garlic sauce adds heat that builds.
For a lighter version, you can air fry or bake the coated chicken instead. Spray the pieces with cooking spray and air fry at 400°F for 12 minutes, flipping halfway. The coating won't be quite as crispy, but it still works and the sauce covers a lot of ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but thighs are more forgiving. Chicken breasts can dry out quickly during frying, especially if your oil temperature dips a little low. If you use breasts, cut them slightly smaller, around 1-inch pieces, and watch the cook time closely. Pull them as soon as they're cooked through to keep them tender.
Dried whole chilies are usually in the international aisle or spice section of most grocery stores, often labeled as dried chili peppers or chile de arbol. If you're stuck, you can substitute 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes stirred into the sauce. The flavor is slightly different but still works well.
Yes, and it's actually a good idea. Mix the sauce ingredients together and store the mixture in a jar in the fridge for up to 3 days. Give it a stir before using since the cornstarch settles. You can also fully make the sauce (cooked, without the chicken) and refrigerate it, then just reheat and toss with freshly fried chicken when you're ready to serve.
It's Chinese-American, meaning it was created by Chinese chefs working in the United States, not a dish from China itself. Food historian Fuchsia Dunlop traced it to Peng Chang-kuei, a Hunanese chef who created an early version in New York in the 1970s. The dish evolved from there into the sweet, sticky version most people know today. You won't find it on menus in China.
