This is a variation of Jing’s General Tso’s Chicken recipe with fresh broccoli for color and texture. General Tso’s Chicken is very popular in America. Unlike our other recipes, however, this is not a traditional Chinese dish. Rather, it falls in the category of American-Chinese, or Chinese “takeout.” It’s a delicious dish, and fairly easy to make. Apart from the cornstarch coating and sugar, it’s a healthy dish too when made with fresh ginger, garlic, and broccoli.
I enjoy my General Tso’s Chicken with Broccoli served on freshly steamed white rice. Served this way, you can easily feed a party of four with this recipe.
The traditional General Tso’s Chicken recipe calls for skinless chicken thighs. However, I find it faster and easier to use chicken breast. Either thighs or breast will work.
With this version, I have added a marinade for the chicken to give it that familiar takeout restaurant taste. However, this is optional. If you prefer, just dredge the chicken in the egg yolk, then cover with the corn starch and flour.
Sourcing ingredients
See our posts on Chinese Chili Peppers and Authentic Ingredients for information about these ingredients and how to order them online.
- Xiao mi la (“millet”) peppers are the smallest and hottest of the Chinese chilies. Not quite as hot as Thai chilies, they are a common ingredient in many southern Chinese dishes, and a favorite of Jing’s.
- Laoganma chili oil with black bean paste is one of two chili oils we use in many recipes. It adds delicious flavor that is hard to beat.
- Regular white cooking wine and white vinegar can be substituted for the Shaoxing wine and Baoning vinegar, but I highly recommend adding both to your pantry. They have a distinctive flavor and small amounts of each can really add to the flavor bouquet of your finished dish.
- A good brand of traditionally brewed light soy sauce is the most important ingredient you can buy. I use Zhongba, but Lee Kum Kee and Pearl River Bridge are other popular brands.
General Tso’s Chicken with Broccoli
This is a variation of our General Tso’s Chicken recipe with fresh broccoli for color and texture. I have added a marinade for the chicken to give it that familiar restaurant taste. However, this is optional. If you prefer, just dredge the chicken in the egg yolk, then cover with the corn starch and flour.
Equipment
- 1 wok
- 1 Dutch oven (optional: for deep frying)
- 1 saucepan (optional: for blanching the broccoli)
Ingredients
- 1 pound skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast
- 6 dried chili peppers xiao mi la (millet) chili peppers
- 1 head fresh broccoli
- 1 tablespoon fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
For the chicken:
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper, ground
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
For the General Tso's sauce:
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon Baoning vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar, white (granulated)
- 2 teaspoon Laoganma chili oil with black bean paste
- 5 teaspoon water
Instructions
Preparation:
- Rinse the broccoli. Place the broccoli in a bowl and add cold water to cover. Add a tablespoon of salt. Set aside.1 head fresh broccoli
- Chop the garlic. Mince the ginger. If you want a hotter dish, chop the xiao mi la peppers into sections. This releases more of the acid in the seeds to mix with the sauce in the pan. If you want a milder dish, just snip the stems and leave the peppers whole. Chop the coriander.6 dried chili peppers, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
- To prepare the sauce: add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) cornstarch, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) light soy sauce, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vinegar, 1.5 tablespoons (22 ml) white sugar, and 2 teaspoons (10 ml) Laoganma chili oil in a bowl. Then add 40ml (1 1/3 ounces) of water, the minced ginger and minced garlic. Stir well and set aside.1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon corn starch, 2 teaspoon light soy sauce , 2 teaspoon Baoning vinegar , 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, white (granulated), 2 teaspoon Laoganma chili oil with black bean paste, 5 teaspoon water
- Remove the broccoli from the brine, rinse, and chop.1 head fresh broccoli
- Separate the 4 chicken thighs from the bone.1 pound skinless chicken thighs
- Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces.1 pound skinless chicken thighs
- Add ¼ teaspoon white pepper, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Shaoxing wine, and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) sesame oil to the chicken and stir until all liquid is absorbed by the chicken. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of sesame seeds.1 teaspoon Shaoxing cooking wine , 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, ground, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- Add enough oil to the wok to submerge the chicken and heat the oil to 300 degrees F (149 C). Hint: if you have a Dutch Oven or deep-sided skillet, you can use this to fry the chicken, then set it aside to cool while you finish the dish in the wok.
- While the oil is heating, beat the egg yolk, in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken. Add the chicken to the egg yolk and stir to coat evenly. Place the chicken on a single layer on a plate or baking tray, then sprinkle the chicken with ¼ cup (50 ml) of cornstarch + 1 tablespoon (15 ml) white flour, and stir with a spatula so that the chicken is evenly coated.1 pound skinless chicken thighs, 1/4 cup corn starch, 1 egg yolk, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Cooking General Tso's Chicken with Broccoli:
- When the oil is hot, add the chicken to deep fry. Fry until golden and remove the chicken. If you fried the chicken in the wok, pour the oil into a heat-proof container. Scrape the browned bits out of the wok.1 pound skinless chicken thighs
- Add about 1 inch of water to the wok, enough to cover the broccoli. Heat the water to boiling and add the chopped broccoli. Blanch the broccoli until the color turns bright green, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the broccoli and discard the water. Set the broccoli aside and dry the wok.1 head fresh broccoli
- Heat the wok on high flame. When it is hot, add a small amount of oil, and stir-fry the dried chili peppers until fragrant. Then quickly stir the sauce to mix the cornstarch, and pour the sauce into the wok. Stir until it boils.6 dried chili peppers
- Add the deep-fried chicken nuggets and the broccoli to the wok and stir-fry over high heat. Stir-fry until the sauce is almost absorbed by the chicken nuggets.1 pound skinless chicken thighs
- Remove and serve, garnished with chopped coriander leaves (cilantro).1 tablespoon fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
Notes
- When heating the oil used for frying, the pan should be kept dry. Because hot oil encounters water, it will splash oil.
- You can use dry chopsticks (or wooden sticks) in the oil. When you see small bubbles appearing around the chopsticks, the oil has reached the right temperature.
- A small Dutch oven is great for deep-frying the chicken. When done frying the chicken, the Dutch oven can be set aside to let the oil cool.
- A saucepan with enough water to cover the broccoli is very helpful for blanching. Heat the water to boiling, add the broccoli for a minute, then remove and put the broccoli in cold water to stop the cooking.
Nutrition
Calories: 308kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 31gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 209mgSodium: 1333mgPotassium: 433mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 397IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 31mgIron: 2mg
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