Tso-n-Tso’s Chicken

I am not a spicy hot food person. I don’t mind a little heat, but if it’s so hot that it “catches” in the back of my throat I feel like I’m suffocating and I can’t taste anything. I hate that! Unfortunately, this means that I am not able to enjoy certain foods. For that reason, I have always avoided the infamous “General Tso’s Chicken”. I finally decided to just make my own version of it so I could have some inkling of what it was like. So really, I still have no idea what it actually tastes like!

My version of this has red bell pepper to give it the appearance of something hot, and a little sriracha to give the slightly sweet sticky sauce a completely bearable tingle of heat.

Ingredients

The Chicken

• 1 lb chicken thighs, skinless & boneless, cut into 1″ chunks

The Marinade

• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 2 TBSP cornstarch
• 1 TBSP mirin, dry vermouth or water

The Sauce

• 3 TBSP soy sauce
• 2 TBSP mirin, or dry vermouth
• 2 TBSP rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup low sodium chicken stock, or water
• 2 TBSP honey
• 1 TBSP hoisin sauce
• 2 TBSP cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 TBSP fresh OJ (about half a fresh orange)
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 0 to 3 tsp Sriracha (see notes)

The Rest

• 1 TBSP minced fresh ginger
• 1 TBSP minced fresh garlic
• 4 green onions, green and white parts sliced thin and separated
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch by 1/2-inch strips
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
• Oil for frying

Instructions

1. In a deep bowl just a little larger than you need to hold all the chicken, whisk together all the marinade ingredients until the dry ingredients are completely dissolved. Add the prepped chicken and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and push it down over the surface of the chicken. Leave to marinate at room temperature for a few minutes while you get on with the rest of the recipe.
2. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients and set aside, save the whisk with the sauce -OR- put all the sauce ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake it until well mixed, set aside with the lid on.

NOTE: If you don’t have toasted sesame seeds, in a large deep frying pan set over medium-high heat, add the sesame seeds and stir until they just start toasting. Then, immediately pour all of them out (make sure you get every last one!) onto a cold surface (I use a paper towel) to cool.

3. In a deep frying pan set over medium-high heat (the same one you used for the seeds if you toasted the seeds), add enough oil to just coat the bottom. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces one at a time, keeping them separated. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown, turning often. The chicken will take about 5 to 6 minutes total to cook through, and should not be touching in the pan. Remove the chicken to a plate lined with kitchen paper towel. If you need to, do this in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan.
4. After all the chicken is cooked and resting on a plate, scrape and/or wipe out all of the fried bits and oil from the pan. It doesn’t have to be perfect or completely clean. Turn the heat down to medium, and add 1 tablespoon of oil, the ginger, garlic, white parts of the sliced green onion, and the red pepper strips to the pan. Stir fry for a few minutes, until the pepper just starts to soften. Keep everything moving or it might burn.
5. Once the peppers just start to soften, give the sauce a good whisking (or a good shake) and stirring constantly, add the sauce to the pan all at once. Cook stirring constantly until thick and bubbling. Remove from the heat and gently stir the chicken into the sauce.
6. Serve immediately, topped with the toasted sesame seeds and the thinly sliced green onion parts.

I like to serve this with sticky white rice.

Makes 4 Servings

Notes

• You can add 2 or even 3 teaspoons of sriracha for more heat. Really, you can add even more than that if you like, or even add some chopped up hot red chilis with or instead of the red bell pepper.