This General Tso's Chicken recipe is crispy bites of chicken stir fried in a sauce that's both sweet and spicy. So easy to make and better than takeout! Perfect for the spicy food lover.
If you're a spicy food lover looking for quick and easy meal options, General Tso's Chicken is a recipe you'll want to keep in your recipe box. No need to call up your local Chinese restaurant for takeout. This homemade version is so easy to make, and so much better with your own personal touch.
General Tso's Chicken is a a dish of crispy deep-fried chicken tossed in a sweet and spicy Chinese sauce. It is popularly served in Chinese American restaurants and named for a Qing Dynasty military leader.
It is rather famous for takeout Chinese food, though it's so much better when you make it at home, as you can really control the ingredients and, more importantly, the spice factor.
Plus, it's done in under 30 minutes, which is a huge bonus, even for a slow cook like me. General Tso's chicken is usually fried in Chinese restaurants, but this version uses a coating of cornstarch for crispiness, making this a somewhat healthier version without all the fry oil.
Let's talk about how to make General Tso's Chicken, shall we?
General Tso's Chicken Ingredients
- FOR THE GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN SAUCE
- Light Soy Sauce
- Honey - For sweetness. You can use sugar or brown sugar as a substitute.
- Rice Vinegar
- Chili Sauce - Doubanjiang is great here, or use chili-garlic sauce.
- Chicken Broth
- Cornstarch
- FOR THE GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN
- Boneless Chicken - Chicken breast or chicken thighs can be used, or a combination.
- Salt and Black Pepper
- Cornstarch
- Vegetable Oil - Olive oil or peanut oil are good, too
- Hot Peppers - Use Chinese peppers, Thai peppers or others that are available to you.
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Scallions (Green Onions)
- For Garnish: Fresh chopped scallions, sesame seeds, spicy red pepper flakes, extra sliced peppers
How to Make General Tso's Chicken - the Recipe Method
MAKE THE GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN SAUCE
Get Whisking. Whisk together the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, chili sauce, chicken broth, and cornstarch in a medium sized bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
FOR THE GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN
Coat the Chicken. Add the chicken pieces in a bowl with the cornstarch and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat. Be sure to evenly coat each piece.
Stir Fry the Chicken. Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok or pan to medium-high heat or high heat and swirl to coat. Cook the chicken 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until the each side of the chicken forms a crispy golden brown crust. Don't let it stick to the bottom of the pan.
Reserve the Chicken. When the chicken is nearly cooked through, remove it from the pan and set it aside.
Cook the Vegetables. Reduce the heat to medium and add the hot peppers, garlic, ginger and scallions. Stir fry for 30 seconds.
Time to Simmer. Add the reserved sauce and reserved chicken to the wok and bring to a simmer. Toss to combine. Cook another 2 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Garnish and serve! General Tso's Chicken is best with rice, either steamed rice, brown rice, or even over stir fried rice.
Boom! Done! General Tso's Chicken is ready to serve! Looks great, doesn't it? Spicy flavor, not overly hot-spicy, though you can easily up that heat with hotter peppers or more spicy chili sauce.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- The Chili Sauce. There are many options available to use. I love to use Doubanjiang, which is a Chinese chili bean paste. Gochujang can work, though the flavor is different. Use a simple chili-garlic sauce from the store, or make your own. Sambal Oelek is great as well.
- The Chicken. Use either chicken breast, chicken thigh, or a combination of both for this recipe. You can bread then fry the coated chicken for super crispy chicken bites, but this stir fried version is healthier, easier to make with less mess and still quite crispy.
- The Heat Factor. Medium. General Tso's Chicken isn't meant to be overly spicy, and the sauce offers more sweet than heat, though you'll get a bit of heat. You can easily up the heat factor with extra spicy chili flakes, hot sauce, a hotter chili sauce, and especially hotter peppers. Thai peppers can be quite hot.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy your new General Tso's Chicken recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you. Keep it spicy!
Recommended Cookbooks
If you love Chinese recipes and cooking, I recommend these books for the American cook. They're loaded with easy Chinese recipes that are full of flavor. I refer to them quite often.
- Easy Chinese Cookbook: Restaurant Favorites Make Simple, by Chris Toy (affiliate link, my friends!)
- The Essential Wok Cookbook, by Naomi Imatome-Yun (affiliate link, my friends!)
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Szechuan Chicken
- Cashew Chicken
- Chicken Lo Mein
- Mongolian Beef
- Sweet & Spicy Teriyaki Chicken
- Korean Chicken
- Korean Fried Chicken
- Bourbon Chicken
- Phaal Curry (the hottest curry in the world)
- Spicy Chicken Fried Rice
- Spicy Ramen Noodles
- Hoisin Sauce
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
General Tso's Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN SAUCE
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (light soy sauce)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chili sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
FOR THE GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN
- 2 pounds boneless chicken cut into bite-sized pieces
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 hot peppers chopped (Use Chinese peppers, Thai peppers or others that are available to you)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger
- 6 scallions chopped
- For Garnish: Fresh chopped scallions, sesame seeds, spicy chili flakes, extra sliced peppers
Instructions
MAKE THE GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN SAUCE
- Whisk together the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, chili sauce, chicken broth, and cornstarch in a medium sized bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
FOR THE GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN
- Toss the chicken pieces in a bowl with the cornstarch and salt and pepper to taste. Be sure to evenly coat each piece.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok or pan to high heat and swirl to coat. Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until the each side of the chicken forms a crispy brown crust. Don't let it stick to the bottom of the pan.
- When the chicken is nearly cooked through, remove it from the pan and set it aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the hot peppers, garlic, ginger, and scallions. Stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the reserved sauce and reserved chicken to the wok and bring to a simmer. Toss to combine. Cook another 2 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Garnish and serve! It is best with rice!
Notes
Nutrition Information
Luke says
I love and hate this one! It’s become a staple at home, but I have given up ordering Generals chicken in a restaurant. I have tried 4 different places and prefer this home cooked version. Awesome comfort food that leaves the whole family reaching for seconds. Highly recommended!!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks so much, Luke! I love to hear it! Sorry to ruin you on takeout! =)
Sula says
Winner, will most certainly make this again
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Sula!
Rob says
Hi Mike. Thank you Sir. I made this tonight for dinner. I love Generals chicken and this will be my new go to recipe. Next time I think I might try deep frying the chicken to get it a little brown on the outside. I will be making a few of your other dishes in the very near future. This is the best General Tso's recipe I have found so far and I believe the search is over now.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you found it and enjoyed it, Rob! Thanks for sharing. =)
Dianne Boyd says
Hi Mike. We love Chinese food, but I've always been intimidated by the different peppers on the market. Can you find Doubanjiang on the supermarket shelves? Do you have a moment to give me a short tutoring session on peppers? Dried? Paste? Chinese cooking versus Mexican dishes?
Thank you for any assistance!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Dianne, you can often find doubanjiang on shelves in the international section, though you may need to find a specialty store or order it online. Definitely worth finding. I think a lot of the questions you have about peppers in general can be found all over the web site. I hope you learn a lot! Enjoy!
Kelly says
Hello Mike. This recipe is awesome! I used Thai Garlic/Chili Paste, cayenne peppers, and a teaspoon of pepper flakes. I also added some broccoli florets. Great heat and an excellent flavor! A great stand alone meal served over rice! Thank you for your recipe!!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome!! Glad you enjoyed it, Kelly! I love the way you made it! YUM.
sherry says
We loved this recipe, thanks Mike. It's definitely a keeper, the best Chinese I've done, the flavours are awesome. I've often seen General Tso's chicken recipe but was always put off by the deep frying aspect, this one is just perfect. I used doubanjiang which I think made all the difference.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Glad you enjoyed it, Sherry! Thanks so much!
Liam says
This recipe is INSANELY good. I would recommend this for an easy week night meal prep, or if you are really trying to wow someone! It was very easy and cheap. We didn’t have the Thai chilis or anything like that, just used jalapeños and it was still so amazing. I’ve tried to make things like this before and none even come close to how good this one is. Definitely making this again!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That's AWESOME, Liam! Super happy you enjoyed it! We really love this recipe. So good!!!
Jérémie says
This, sir, was excellent. I used Sambal Oelek because I wanted to try my own fresh (and a bit fermented), but Doubanjiang would have been nicer, with a thicker twist.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Glad you enjoyed it, Jérémie! We really love this dish. Delicious!
col says
i never 'deep fry' (terminology may be different across the proverbial pond) as large amounts of oil at smoking temperatures aren't needed in my life so i'm liking the look of this.
strangely i was looking at your sticky chicken recipes just last week as i was having a hankering for something along these lines but the oil quantities meant that i didn't try them despite the delicious.
think we're on to a winner here.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Col, I really avoid deep frying in most cases for the same reason. I do on occasion, but this recipe (and many others) uses a small amount of oil to achieve crispy results from the coating. I do hope you like it! Winner for me for sure.
Janet Bradley says
Have everything on hand, except for the peppers, but I do have a can of green chili peppers. Would that work. I'm not looking for a lot of heat. Why does the Soy Sauce need to be light, I have the regular dark sauce, would that also work. Gave it 5 stars already, because I KNOW FOR A FACT that I'm gonna love it!!!!
Thanks, Janet
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Janet, you can definitely use the diced green chilies. Those would work just fine for flavor. You CAN use dark soy sauce for this. Dark soy sauce is thicker and more pronounced in flavor, so you might reduce the amount a bit as not to overpower. Please let me know it turns out for you. Enjoy!