General Tso's Chicken (Baked!)
General Tso’s Chicken that is BAKED, not fried, smothered in an irresistible sweet and spicy, zingy sauce and about to become your favorite Chinese food fakeout takeout! The chicken alone seeps with flavor from the marinade and its crispy ginger spiced breading but becomes positively addicting as its smothered in the sweet and spicy, zingy sauce infused with sriracha, ginger, garlic and sesame oil. The layered complex flavors combined with the crisp-crust, juicy chicken will have you falling hard for this General Tso Chicken recipe!
Servings 6
Ingredients
Marinade/Sauce
- 2 pounds chicken breasts cut into 1” pieces
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup rice wine or dry sherry (I use "Kikkoman Aji-Mirin" found in the Asian section of any grocery store)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
- 1-3 teaspoons Sriracha/ Asian hot chili sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2-3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (or 2-3 teaspoons ground ginger)
- Dash of pepper
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (for Sauce, reserve from marinade)
Breading
- 2 eggs (do NOT add to flour bag)
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons ground ginger (sounds like a lot but its amazing)
- 1 tsp EACH salt, onion powder, garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Caramel Sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Place baking sheet in oven.
- In a medium bowl, whisk all of the marinade ingredients together EXCEPT cornstarch. Spoon 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the marinade into a freezer bag with the chicken; let marinate 20 minutes at room temperature (or up to 6 hours in the refrigerator). Whisk 2 tablespoons cornstarch to the reserved sauce (NOT the marinade) - this will be added to your Caramel Sauce later. Set aside (or refrigerate separate from marinating chicken if not using soon).
- Meanwhile, whisk together all of the Breading ingredients in a freezer bag EXCEPT the eggs.
- Drain excess marinade from chicken without removing chicken from bag. Add eggs to bag and toss with chicken until evenly coated. Working in batches, remove coated chicken from bag, dabbing off excess egg wash with paper towels then add chicken to Breading bag. Seal bag and toss until chicken is evenly coated.
- Carefully place chicken on the hot baking sheet in an even layer and lightly spray with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes then move the baking tray to the top middle oven rack and broil until crispy, watching closely so the chicken doesn't burn (about 2-3 minutes). Flip chicken pieces over and broil another 2-3 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
- While chicken is baking, whisk 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar together in a large nonstick skillet. Bring to a boil over medium high for 1 minute, whisking constantly - don't overcook or it will harden! At this point, add reserved sauce all at once. Simmer the sauce until it thickens, about 2 minutes. You can add vegetables to the sauce while it simmers if desired. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow to cool down slightly. Add cooked chicken and stir to combine OR for less saucy chicken, add chicken to a large bowl and add desired amount of sauce.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.