Try this General Tsos Chicken recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup sugar
- sauce:
- batter:
- 2 tbsp water
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 1-11/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
- cut into chunks
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 4 small dried chilies seeds removed (i used arbol chiles)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic minced
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 2 tbsp sherry or white wine
- 1/4 tbsp soy sauce low sodium preferred
- Carbohydrate 110.684540396318 g
- Cholesterol 1106.12 mg
- Fat 191.16110000583 g
- Fiber 15.7107000282418 g
- Protein 259.125964738724 g
- Saturated Fat 54.5013563340929 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (2503g)
- Sodium 28894.1667470544 mg
- Sugar 94.9738403680757 g
- Trans Fat 17.373310336026 g
- Calories 3236 calories
Step-by-step
- Mix batter in a large bowl. It should seem thick almost putty like. Add chicken and use a wooden spoon to coat the chicken evenly.
- Set deep fryer to 350º or fill a sauce pan with 2-3” deep oil and monitor temperature with a cooking/candy thermometer.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together in a separate bowl and set aside.
- Using wooden spoon and a fork, remove 7-9 chicken pieces, letting the excess mixture drip off, and drop into the oil. Fry until golden brown and crispy, about 3-4 mins.
- Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
- While frying chicken, in a saute pan, add a small amount of oil over medium heat.
- Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds, then add the sauce mixture.
- Stir sauce until thick, making sure to keep an eye on your frying chicken!
- Add chicken to sauce and cook until bubbly. The quicker this is done the crispier the chicken stays.
- Serve over rice and enjoy!
A list of ingredients fails to reveal how physics dictates textural survival in a wok. Starch chemistry rules the batter phase. When cornstarch hydrates with egg and water, it forms a dense, viscous suspension rather than a runny pancake-style coating. That putty-like consistency insulates the chicken muscle fibers, preventing rapid moisture loss while water molecules flash-boil and escape through the starch matrix. This creates microscopic pockets of air, resulting in a shatteringly crisp crust.
Maintaining that crunch requires strict thermal control. Oil heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit instantly vaporizes surface moisture on the batter, setting the starch structure before the fat can penetrate the interior. Overcrowding the pan causes oil temperatures to plummet below 325 degrees, leading to soggy, oil-logged coatings because the moisture cannot escape fast enough to prevent saturation.
Sauce application is a race against thermodynamics. Pouring the liquid mixture over the hot fried chicken initiates rapid starch gelatinization. Pectin and cornstarch in the sauce thicken rapidly under medium heat, locking the glaze onto the exterior without dissolving the fragile starch crust underneath. Speed is mandatory here. The chicken must enter and exit the bubbling sauce within thirty seconds, or residual steam migrating from the interior will soften the outer shell.
Leftovers present a structural paradox. Reheating moisture-laden fried proteins in a microwave destroys the crust entirely, as steam trapped inside turns the starch back into gel. Instead, revive chilled portions in a 400-degree oven for six minutes to drive off surface condensation and restore crispness.
