How to Make General Tso's chicken

When I eat out at an oriental buffet, I never can resist a plate or two of General Tso's chicken. At home, I use this recipe for a tasty version of this dish.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 ½ lbs chicken (boneless breast) 1 inch cube cut
• Corn starch (1/2 cup)
• Canola oil for frying
• 1 beaten large egg
• 1 tablespoon sherry
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Soy sauce (1/4 cup)
• Chicken broth (1/4 cup)
• Sherry (3 tablespoons)
• Sugar (1/4 cup)
• 15 small whole dried red chilies (optional)
• Garlic (minced, 1 teaspoon)
• Cold water (6 tablespoons)
• Cornstarch (1 tablespoon)

1. Coat the chicken about an hour before serving. Put a large cake rack on top of a baking sheet. Put the cubed chicken into a medium bowl. Mix in the sherry and soy sauce. Mix again after adding the egg until good and coated. Put the ½ cup cornstarch into shallow bowl. Roll the chicken in the cornstarch a few pieces at a time. Place the coated chicken onto the wire rack without the pieces touching. Place the bowl of cornstarch aside. For about 30 minutes, allow the chicken to sit untouched.

2. Mix the broth, vinegar, sherry, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl to dissolve the sugar as much as possible. Dissolve the cornstarch (1 tablespoon) in water in another small bowl. Put the cornstarch you set aside into a gallon size storage bag and shake to coat the chicken again. (Add more cornstarch if necessary If the cornstarch starts sticking together, discard it and use fresh.

3. In a deep fryer, heat the oil with a basket until it is very hot (Roughly 400 degrees on a deep fry thermometer). Use enough of the oil to cover the chicken when frying. In batches, deep fry the chicken until coating sets (30 seconds tops). Remove chicken, count to ten, then return chicken to oil and cook until it is golden (Approximately 15 seconds. Remove the chicken from the oil for a third time, count to ten again, and return to the oil until the coating is crisp and brown (1 minute). Transfer chicken to platter then set aside while deep frying what's left of the chicken

4. Add two tablespoons of the oil from the wok into a large skillet (nonstick). Dispose of the remaining oil. Add chilies, if you like. Cook until the chilies become a dark red color. Stir in soy sauce mixture, then the garlic. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer (20 seconds). Add cornstarch mixture then stir until thick. Add chicken and stir to coat. Serve as soon as possible.