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The Food Maven Diary
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08/20/2001 Archived Entry: "General Tso's Chicken"
I have been asked this question a million, zillion times: Who is General Tso and how do I make General Tso’s chicken?
Before I answer that, and before you read the following recipes, I want to remind everyone that this was the very dish that the Washington-based, non-profit Center For Science in the Public Interest used as an example of how unhealthy Chinese take-out food is. Their “study” of Chinese take-out, sensational as it was, got huge media attention. Some cynics (like me) would even say that the report was created for the sole purpose of getting media attention.
At the time the CSPI made this report public, several years ago, I protested loudly that this was hardly an example of good Chinese cooking. CSPI is a group that I personally don’t think always acts responsibly. They talked only of the excessive salt, sugar, fat, and calories in the typical take-out General Tso’s Chicken, and besmearched all Chinese food by extension.
Searching the internet for General Tso’s Chicken recipes, I did, indeed, easily find the kind of recipe that the CSPI was so upset about, but I also found in my library some elegant, and reasonably light versions of General Tso’s famous dish. The dish you should not be making (or eating) is on General Tsao’s Chicken. The recipes that follow, which you might want to try yourself, are from Eileen Yin-Fei Lo’s book, The Chinese Kitchen, and from Ken Hom’s Chinese Kitchen. (That is not a mistake. Both books are called Chinese Kitchen.)
So who was General Tso?
Eileen Yin-Fei Lo calls General Tso’s Chicken “one of the most well known dishes of the transplanted Chinese restaurant.” She has seen it referred to as “not only the chicken of one General Tso, but of General Tsao, General Taso, General Toa, General Cho, General Gau, General Ching, General Kung, and General Tseng.” As if this list weren’t varied enough, Eileen even says she has also seen it attributed to a “General Ciao.” As you know, that’s an informal “goodbye” in Italian.
Eileen, giving a brief history lesson, tells us of a General Tso who lived in Hunan in the 19th century and who was rumored to have a “good appetite.” Whatever the dish’s actual origins, Eileen describes it as “some version of a classic recipe from Hunan” that is usually called jeung bau gai kau. Here in America, this dish has become known as Tso chung tong gai which translates into “Tso ancestor meeting place chicken.”
So, was there are a real General Tso? No one knows or probably ever will.
Eileen Yin-Fei Lo’s
General Tso’s Chicken
Makes 4 to 6 servings
This is what Eileen calls “the proper dish, as it is cooked in Hunan.”
For the chicken:
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 large chicken legs with thighs, each 3/4 pound, boned and skinned, fat and membranes removed and cut into 1-inch cubes (1 pound)
For the sauce:
2 1/2 tablespoons double dark soy sauce, dark soy sauce, or mushroom soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 teaspoons sugar
3 teaspoons Chinese white rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Shao-Hsing wine or dry sherry
3 1/2 cups peanut oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch, for dusting
8 small dried hot chili peppers
1/4 cup finely sliced scallions
1. In a bowl, mix together the egg, salt, white pepper, and 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Add the chicken cubes, mix to coat, and marinate for at least 15 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and reserve.
2. Heat a wok over high heat for 40 seconds. Add the peanut oil and heat to 350 degrees. With tongs, remove the chicken cubes individually, dust lightly with a tiny bit additional cornstarch, and place in the oil. Deep-fry for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until the chicken is browned and crisp. Turn off the heat. Remove the chicken with a Chinese strainer and drain over a bowl. Pour off all but 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil from the wok.
3. Heat the wok over high heat for 20 seconds. When a wisp of white smoke appears, add the chilies and stir for 15 seconds. Add the scallion and stir for 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Stir the sauce mixture, then pour it into the wok, stir well, and cook until the chicken cubes are completely coated with sauce, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn off the heat, transfer to a heated dish, and serve.
General Tang’s Chicken
Makes 4 servings
Ken says this dish is “at once spicy and sweet...typical of Hunan sauces and cooking” and suggests serving it with plain rice and a vegetable.
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
For the marinade:
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the batter:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
5/8 cup water
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons peanut or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
For the sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
5 dried red chilies, halved, unseeded
5 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups chicken stock or water
2 teaspoons white rice vinegar
1 teaspoon cornstarch blended with 1 teaspoon water
5 cups peanut or vegetable oil (for deep frying)
Combine the chicken with the marinade ingredients in a bowl and let sit for 20 minutes
Mix the batter ingredients together in a blender until smooth with no lumps. Put it through a sieve or strainer if necessary. Combine the batter with the chicken.
For the sauce, heat a saucepan over medium heat until it is hot, then add the 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot and slightly smoking, add the chilies and garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until the garlic begins to brown. Then add the salt, sugar, stock, and rice vinegar and bring the mixture to a boil. Thicken this with the cornstarch mixture. Turn the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Heat a wok over high heat until it is hot, then add the 5 cups of oil for deep-frying. When the oil is hot and slightly smoking, remove the chicken from the batter with tongs and deep-fry, in two or three batches, until golden and crispy. Drain well on paper towels and set on a warm platter. Immediately pour the sauce over the chicken and serve at once.
Arthur’s note: I would garnish this with chopped scallions.
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