Food and Drink: General Tso’s Chicken
This week's yummy recipe is excerpted from Kosher Style: Over 100 Jewish Recipes for the Modern Cook by Amy Rosen
Everyone’s favorite Chinese chicken dish comes home to roost. A large, weathered wok comes in handy here, but any big, deep skillet will do. Pair the saucy fried chicken with rice and stir-fried greens for homemade delivery done right. It may not be authentic, but authentic isn’t what we’re after here.
- To make the sauce, combine the soy sauce, tomato paste, seasoned rice vinegar, rice wine, brown sugar, water and cornstarch in a bowl, whisking to dissolve the tomato paste and sugar. Set aside.
- For the chicken, in a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, eggs, pepper and cornstarch. Add the chicken and evenly coat.
- Heat 3 cups oil in a wok to around 370°F and line a large plate with paper towel.
- Carefully add the chicken to the hot oil, a few pieces at a time, and deep-fry until crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and drain on
the paper towel. When all the chicken is fried, drain the wok of oil and wipe clean. (Note: Do not pour oil down the drain. To properly dispose, pour it into a resealable jar and throw it in the trash.) Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and, when hot, add the dried chilies, garlic and ginger. Stir-fry until aromatic, about 30 seconds, then add the sauce and stir until it thickens, 1to 2 minutes. - Return the deep-fried chicken to the wok and toss to coat with the sauce for two minutes. Drizzle with sesame oil and garnish with green onions. Serve at once with a side of steamed rice.
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 4 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ cup water or chicken broth
- 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with
- 1 tbsp cold water
For the chicken:
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ tsp pepper
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, patted dry and cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying, plus 2 tbsp for stir-frying
- 10 small dried red chilies 6 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 4 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
Steamed rice, for serving
Excerpted from Kosher Style: Over 100 Jewish Recipes for the Modern Cook by Amy Rosen, published by Appetite by Random House, priced £25 (hardback)
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