Ordinarily I stray away from recipes with a large list of ingredients, but trust me... this is easy and SOOO worth the number of ingredients!!
General Tso's Chicken
The Line Up
Marinade
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP Chinese Rice Wine or Dry Sherry
2 egg whites
Sauce
1/4 c chicken stock, or water
1 1/2 TBSP tomato paste
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP rice vinegar
1 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp chili paste
1 tsp sesame oil
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp corn starch
1 1/2 c corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 c peanut or vegetable oil for frying, plus 1 TBSP for stir-frying
8 dried whole red chilis (or 1/4 tsp dried red chili flakes)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp white sesame seeds, for garnish
Scallions, green parts thinly sliced, for garnish
The Game Plan
Prepare the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, and egg whites. Coat the chicken to marinate the mixture and let sit for 10 minutes.
Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the chicken stock, tomato paste, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, sugar and the 1 tsp of cornstarch. Stir until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Set the sauce aside.
In a large bowl, or deep plate, toss the 1 1/2 cups cornstarch with the salt and pepper. Coat the marinated chicken in the cornstarch and shake off any excess before frying.
Heat the 3 cups of oil in your wok until it registers 350° on an instant-read oil thermometer. Workin in 2 or 3 batches, add the first batch of chicken cubes and fry until golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
Drain the oil into a heatproof container and save for discarding. Wipe the wok with a paper towel to remove any brown bits, but don't wash.
Reheat the wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add another 1 TBSP of oil and swirl to coat the base and sides. Add the dried chilis and garlic to the wok and stir-fry until just fragrant, about 20 second. Pour in the sauce mixture and stir until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Return the chicken to the wok and stir well to coat with sauce. Transfer the chicken to a serving dish. Garnish with white sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with white rice and vegetables.
Bacon Fried Rice
The Line Up
4 slices bacon
1 c rice
2 c water
1 c frozen peas
2 eggs, scrambled
2 green onions, sliced
3 TBSP soy sauce
The Game Plan
In a large pan, start by frying up bacon slices. Once cooked and crispy, remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Do not rinse or wipe out pan! There should be at least 2 TBSP bacon grease left. If not, add enough vegetable oil to get 2 TBSP. Add rice to pan and fry for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When rice is golden brown, add water, frozen peas and stir. Add lid, reduce heat to low and allow rice to cook for approximately 12-15 minutes. While rice is cooking, in a separate skillet, scramble two eggs. Then dice up cooled bacon.
When rice is done, add scrambled eggs, diced bacon and sliced green onion. Add soy sauce and stir together. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Coach's Post Game Conference
If you've been reading along for a while, you won't be shocked to know that I *doubled* the sauce recipe for the chicken.
As far as the fried rice - I also add about 1/3 can of bean sprouts and occasionally some diced onion. I reserve the yolks from the 2 eggs that are separated for the chicken marinade and scramble those in with the two whole eggs for the rice. All sorts of possibilities!
Final Score
Coach - Home Run
Catcher - Home Run
The All-Star - Home Run
The Rookie - Home Run when she's in the mood to eat
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