Fast and Easy General Tso's Chicken

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I am in love with this stuff.  An acceptable substitute for the classic Chinese (that originated in America) dish. A little crunchy coating, nice and spicy and even though I use the meat from a rotisserie chicken (yes, this is one of my 52 Uses for a Rotisserie Chicken), it comes out nicely moist and tender.

A quick and easy internet search will show you the origins of General Tso's Chicken as a simple example of Hunan style cooking introduced in New York City (First mention in the NY Times in 1977).  But the tastiness of the dish will lay testament to it's rapid growth and popularity.

Even in the suburbs of Kansas.

Keep scrolling down, the easy to follow recipe is just below...

I have taken a few liberties with the dish in order to speed the cooking process.  I can make this dish in about 20 to 30 minutes.  Time enough to cook the whole grain brown rice I like.  For this dish, I used some of the left over Chicken Fried Rice I had made for lunch.

So, all I had to do was make the chicken...

There are three stages.  Seems like a lot of steps, but it really is easy...

First is to marinade the chicken...

General Tso's Chicken - Marinading the chicken

Ingredients

• 1 Pound Chicken Breast meat from a rotisserie chicken, cut into cubes
• 1 TBS Chinese Rice Wine
• 2 Seperated Eggs, just the whites

Cooking Directions

1. Whisk together the egg whites and the Rice Wine
2. Pour into a plastic bag and add the cubed chicken.
3. Swirl to coat
4. Set aside while you assemble the other ingredients. Allow to marinade for 10 minutes.

Second step is to crisp up and add a light breading to the already cooked rotisserie chicken...

General Tso's Chicken - crisping the chicken

Ingredients

• 1 Pound Marinated Chicken Breast from a rotisserie chicken, cut into cubes
• 1 Cup Corn Starch
• 1 TBS Coarse grind Sea Salt
• 1 TBS Minced Garlic
• 2 TBS Sesame Seeds
• 1/4 Cup Canola Oil, enough to cover about 1/4 inch in a heavy bottomed frying pan or wok

Cooking Directions

1. Heat Oil in a heavy bottomed frying pan (or wok) over medium heat
2. in a large plastic ziplock bag, combine the corn starch, salt, garlic and sesame seeds.
3. Add the chicken and shake to coat
4. Fry the chicken until the coating has crusted and a beautiful golden brown color appears!
5. Remove chicken from pan, drain on a paper towel.  
6. Pour the oil out and add the Spicy sauce in the next step...

Final Step is to add a spicy sauce...

General Tso's Chicken - Adding a spicy sauce to the chicken

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Chicken Stock
• 2 TBS Tomato Paste
• 1 TBS Soy Sauce
• 1 TBS Rice Vinegar
• 1 tsp Hoisin Sauce (More if you like it REALLY spicy)
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Sesame Oil
• 2 TBS Sugar
• Sliced Green Onions to garnish

Cooking Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients together and whisk to combine.
2. Pour into the heavy bottomed frying pan (or wok) and heat
3. Add the chicken and coat with the sauce.
4. Serve over rice, garnish with the green onions and ENJOY!

And there it is... Thanks to the beauty that is the rotisserie chicken, all of this comes together fast.  Plenty of ingredients, but well worth the effort!

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This recipe has been added to my growing list of "52 Uses For a Rotisserie Chicken"  (Now close to 100!)...I am so confused... $5.49 for a fully cooked, fully seasoned Oven Roasted, Rotisserie Chicken. Yet shop in the raw meat department and most raw chickens are at best $8 each and usually far closer to $10. Anyone have an answer??? Me either. So, I can either rail against the machine, or learn to embrace the beauty that is the $5 chicken! In this pin are recipes I have made, and recommend. MORE than 52 (I just can't stop)..
You get the idea.  From Scratch Pizza to Chinese Take Out recipes, Lots of Soups and Chili... Appetizers to Main Courses (Still can't find a dessert, but I am looking).  More than enough ideas for that store nought bird to shine with just a little extra work

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