This General Tso’s Chicken has extra crispy chicken that’s smothered in a sweet, savory, and tangy sauce with delicious bites of broccoli! You’ll love making this Chinese Food takeout recipe at home.
Be sure to try my Shrimp Fried Rice and Chinese Chicken Salad recipes next!
General Tso’s Chicken is always a must when we order Chinese food. It’s actually one of the most popular menu items in Chinese food restaurants across America. So I figured it would be fun to learn how to make it myself at home.
The chicken in this recipe is super crunchy, and it’s smothered in a glossy, flavorful sauce that has the perfect balance of flavors. Let’s get into what you need to know to make this classic takeout meal yourself!
What is General Tso’s Chicken
General Tso’s Chicken is a dish featuring deep-fried chicken in a sweet sauce that also has hints of tangy, savory, and spicy. It’s served in Chinese restaurants across North America.
There are Taiwanese versions of this dish as well, which has chicken that’s cooked with the skin on. The sauce isn’t as sweet and soy sauce is a more prominent ingredient.
Read more about how this dish originated and more at Wikipedia.
The Sauce
The sauce is what makes this recipe, it has such a unique and delicious balance of different flavors. Learning the role of each ingredient is helpful when making this recipe:
- Cornstarch + Water – The Thickener.
- Chicken Broth – Gives us enough liquid to coat the chicken, adds savory flavor.
- Sugar – Gives the sauce the sweetness that it needs. Some recipes call for brown sugar but I really like the distinct flavor of white.
- Soy Sauce – Adds Umami.
- Garlic – I always recommend using fresh instead of bottled/minced for best flavor.
- White Vinegar – Adds tang. Rice Vinegar may also be used.
- Chili Paste – Adds a hint of spicy which balances it all out.
- Hoisin Sauce – Sweet, salty, and glazy. The perfect addition to this sauce.
- Sesame Oil– Adds a hint of sesame flavor, just don’t add too much as it’s very potent.
- Red Pepper Flakes– One final way to add a little kick.
General Tso’s Chicken Pronunciation
- When I listen to Julien Miquel’s YouTube video on how it’s pronounced, I hear a hint of the “t” at the beginning, followed by “s-ow”.
- Pronouncing it Right describes it as: “tsah-oo, with an elongated -oo sound.”
General Tso’s Chicken vs. Orange Chicken and Sesame Chicken
- General Tso’s Chicken: Sweet sauce with a little more heat, often served with broccoli. (I know, I know, I added sesame seeds too. I couldn’t help myself.)
- Orange Chicken: Similar sauce to General Tso but lighter in color, not as spicy, and includes some sort of addition of orange, such as orange zest.
- Sesame Chicken: Salty with a just a small hint of sweet flavor, served with sesame seeds.
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Dredge chicken into the egg mixture, then into the flour/cornstarch mixture and deep fry in batches until golden brown. Set aside. (Warning: You’ll be tempted to stop right there and just eat the chicken. A little taste-test won’t hurt. 😉)
Sauté broccoli in oil for about 5 minutes or until desired consistency is reached and set aside.
Add sauce ingredients to a large skillet and bring to a gentle boil. It will continue to thicken, stir constantly and watch closely.
Once desired thickness is nearly obtained, add the chicken and broccoli and stir to combine. Remove from heat and garnish with green onions/sesame seeds if desired.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days.
- Leftovers can be heated in a skillet or microwave. If the sauce gets too thick, add a splash of chicken broth or water.
- Note that the chicken won’t be as crispy the second time around, but the taste is still great!
Tools For This Recipe
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- Dutch Oven – These conduct heat really well. I use mine all the time.
- Deep Fryer – This is the one I have, it’s simple/easy and doesn’t take up much space.
- Rubbermaid Containers with lids– I always use these to combine my corn starch + cold water.
- Oil Thermometer
- Slotted Spoon
- Silicone Spatula– Easy for tossing the chicken in the sauce.
- Cooling Racks
- Wok
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General Tso's Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 quart peanut oil, can sub vegetable oil
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, can sub breasts
Chicken Dredge
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 eggs + 2 Tbsp. sauce mix
Sauce
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons cold water
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons white vinegar, can sub rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili paste, see notes
- 1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
Garnishes
- Green onions
- Sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- For the Sauce: Combine the corn starch and water in a medium bowl (or, I Iike to use a container that I can cover and shake). Add remaining sauce ingredients and stir or shake to combine. Set aside.
- For the Chicken Dredge: In a medium bowl, combine the flour and cornstarch. In another bowl, whisk 2 eggs and 2 Tablespoons of the sauce mixture.
- Dice the chicken into cubes and pat dry. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the egg mixture, and then into the flour mixture.
- Add 1 quart of oil to a 3 ½ or 4 quart dutch oven, or use a deep fryer. Heat over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 365 degrees. Fry the chicken in batches, until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the chicken and place on wire cooling racks so that the bottom stays crispy. Place wax or parchment paper underneath the racks to catch excess grease.
- Take 2 Tablespoons of peanut oil from the dutch oven or deep fryer and place it in a large skillet. Sauté the broccoli for about 5 minutes or until it’s reached your desired level of doneness. Remove and set aside.
- Add the sauce mixture to the skillet and bring it to a gentle boil. It will thicken quickly so watch it carefully. Once it’s almost reached your desired level of thickness, reduce the heat to low, add the chicken and stir to coat. Add the broccoli, stir to combine, and remove from heat. Garnish with green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds and serve!
Notes
Use regular soy sauce, dark will be too overpowering. (Dark soy sauce is labeled.)
Storage Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days. Leftovers can be heated in a skillet or microwave. If the sauce gets too thick, add a splash of chicken broth or water. Note that the chicken won't be as crispy the second time around, but the taste is still great!
The photo recipe says to dip into the flour first then the egg, the written recipe says the opposite. Which would you recommend I do?
Thanks!
I’m sorry about that! Egg first, flour second! Thank you so much! I’ll update the post!
This was very good – a very good copycat recipe. Takes like the restaurant kind. It has a lot of steps but is the worth the effort. Thank you so much for this recipe. We will put it on our rotation!
You’re so welcome Diane! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. My family loves this one! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!😍
Tried this tonight and it was amazing!! Thank you for sharing. It was a hit with my husband, and 2 kids!
Yayyy!😍 I’m so happy you all liked the General Tso’s Chicken! This is my husband’s favorite dish whenever we go out for Chinese food. He loves that I can make it homemade. Thanks so much for the great review!
Tried this tonight and it was amazing! So delicious. Thank you for sharing! It was a hit with my husband, and 2 kids (1 and 3 years old)!!
I’m so happy even the youngsters enjoyed it Samantha! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!😃
My family and I just had this for dinner, and it was FANTASTIC. I would definitely add the optional red pepper flakes to give it that extra little kick. Loved it!
I’m so happy this was a success with the family Melissa! My husband loves the extra heat from the red pepper too. Thanks so much for the great review!😍
Hi
This sounds amazing. Could I use an air fryer instead of deep frying?
Hi, unfortunately where the batter is a little on the wet side from the egg mixture, an air fryer could cause that to splatter all around from the air flow.
WOW this recipe is incredible, I’ve made a few attempts at General Tso’s Chicken before and this was by far the best- the chicken was so crispy and the sauce is so perfect, just like from a restaurant. Thank you so much. This is a keeper.
Hi Margie! I’m so happy to hear that! I absolutely love making this meal when we are craving some takeout, it’s fun to make at home and I agree, the sauce is hard to beat! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it. -Stephanie
Very good. Easy to make
Great!! I am so happy to hear that Kathy, thank you so much for the review, I appreciate it so much! -Stephanie
This came out so good! Amazing flavor with the sauce. I followed the recipe exactly, only exception is I added more red pepper flakes since I like my General Tso’s to have extra heat! I highly recommend this one!
I’m so happy you liked this Alison! My husband likes it with extra heat too! Thanks so much for the review!
Love that crunch on the chicken!! This is a must try!
Thank you so much!!! I had to sneak a few pieces of that fried chicken before the sauce was done, super crispy! 😉