General Tao Chicken

This is my hubby's absolute favourite meal.  He would be very happy if I made it for him every week.  And I have to say, it is pretty good.  And spicy.  The first time I made this I used 2 tablespoons of chili flakes.  I couldn't eat it, it was ridiculously hot.  It could have just been the type of chili flakes I had bought, but from then on I only used a 1/2 tablespoon.  I like spicy food, but I couldn't even taste anything that first time, my mouth was numb from the burning.  So I'm writing a 1/2 tablespoon in the recipe, but if you're feeling brave....

I like to get everything chopped and ready before I start cooking the chicken, because everything cooks really  fast, and once the chicken is done you want to be able to add the other ingredients while quickly stir-frying.  I mix the soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar beforehand too.  Plus I always like having little bowls of ingredients, it makes me feel like I'm on a cooking show.  

Also, I should mention that this recipe doesn't make the crispy chicken pieces that you get when you order General Tao at a restaurant.  If you do want them crispy like that you would need to deep fry them and make some kind of batter.  Probably just dipping the marinated pieces in flour would work.  When I make this I cook each piece of chicken individually, letting one side get a little crispy and then flipping it to crisp up the other side.  It takes more time that way though, and if you want to just dump the chicken and marinade in the pan and stir-fry it, that will taste great too.

General Tao Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp each minced ginger and garlic

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 tbsp chili pepper flakes

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil...or a bit more if you love it as much as I do!

soya oil for cooking

Marinade:

1 egg white

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp soy sauce

Make the marinade, add the chicken to it and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours.  Add the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to chicken broth and refrigerate.  Over med-high, heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok.  Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink.  Remove the chicken and let stand.  Reserve 2 tablespoons of the oil in the pan, add the onions, garlic, ginger, and chili pepper flakes.  Stir quickly for about 2 minutes.  Add in the chicken, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and chicken broth and cornstarch mixture.  Continue stir-frying until the sauce has thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil.  Serve over rice.  If you find that the sauce has thickened too much, just add a bit more chicken broth.  Enjoy!