General Tso's Chicken

This week we decided to test out some Asian-style sauces. We tried out making our own teriyaki sauce and General Tso's sauce. Unfortunately, we always find the teriyaki sauce, whether from a jar, restaurant, or homemade, to be pretty disappointing. It ends up tasting like a dressed up soy sauce.

On the bright side, the General Tso's sauce came out really well. It had that same tangy sweetness complemented with a bit of a kick. I also felt very satisfied that the sauce generally tasted similar to what you get in the restaurant or take-out places. Usually, I try and stay away from those because you get more fried coating than actual chicken meat. Or, I get the tofu to make myself feel less guilty, even though I know that it has also bathed in oil. This recipe worked out really well, because I got my delicious sauce in a generally healthier version (though by no means the healthiest).

The second reason I like this recipe is because all of the ingredients I had on hand at home. I don't enjoy running out to the store to get one random ingredient that I will never end up using again. So, after looking at several different recipes, I concocted one that altered some ingredients to suit my needs. For example, you'll see I used white vinegar instead of rice vinegar or peanut butter instead of sesame oil. I'm telling you, it came out pretty similar to what your used to and didn't cause the added hassle.

Although we made it with chicken, I'm sure it would work well with pork or tofu (depending on your diet). You can also decide to cook the chicken without the corn starch coating, though I'm not sure how well the sauce will end up sticking to it. Either way, there's a lot you can do with this sauce; be creative!

Ingredients
Sauce
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-1/2 tsp ginger
-1 cup water
-1 Tbsp stir fry sauce (or hoisin sauce)
-1.5 Tbsp white vinegar (or rice vinegar)
-2 tsp minced garlic
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp onion powder
-1/2 tsp chili flakes in oil (Chinese chilis in oil)
-1 tsp shriracha
-1 tsp hot sauce
-2 Tbsp white (or brown) sugar
-2 Tbsp corn starch
-1 tsp peanut butter
-1 tsp ginger powder
-1 tsp garlic minced
-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
-1 lb chicken (tenderloins cut in half)
-1/2 cup corn starch
-4 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions
Begin by mixing all of the sauce ingredients together. Pour 1/3 to 1/2 of the sauce into a large freezer bag. Place the chicken in the bag with the sauce and let it marinade in the fridge for about 1/2 hour.
Take chicken out of the bag and roll in corn starch to coat each piece.
Heat a large skillet on medium high heat with 3 Tbsp olive oil. When hot, add the chicken. After about a minute or two flip the chickens to cook on the other side. Once chickens are browned, remove from the pan and place on a plate with paper towels to soak up excess oil.
In the same large skillet, add the ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes with a tsp of oil. Saute until fragrant. Add the remaining sauce (not the one from the marinade!) and simmer for about 3 minutes, constantly stirring.
Once sauce has thickened a bit, add the chicken back into the pan. Mix chicken to coat and allow to simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
Serve with steamed broccoli and rice.