General Tso's Chicken

I tried a lot of variations on this one before DH said, "Aaah, you've mastered it this time". (He wasn't so pleased with my first few attempts!) My successes are borrowed HEAVILY from Sue L.'s "General Tso's Chicken (Tso Chung Gai)". Thanks Sue! Prep time includes cooking time.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• Chicken

• 6  chicken breasts
• 2  eggs
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄4 cup cornstarch
• 1  cup tapioca starch or 1  cup cornstarch

• Rice

• 1 1⁄2 cups sticky rice
• 2 1⁄4 cups water

• Vegetables

• 1  head broccoli
• 1  lb asparagus
• 1⁄2 cup  julienned carrot
• 1⁄2 cup green onion
• 1⁄2  red pepper
• 1⁄2 orange bell pepper

• Sauce

• 2  tablespoons  minced garlic (or more if you like)
• 2  tablespoons  minced ginger
• 8  Thai red chili peppers
• 3⁄4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1⁄4 cup sugar, and
• 2  tablespoons sugar
• 1⁄4 cup  rice wine vinegar, and
• 2  tablespoons  rice wine vinegar
• 3  tablespoons cooking sherry

Directions

1. Chicken: Cut the chicken into 1" cubes. Stir into a mixture of the eggs, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup cornstarch. Allow to marinate while you prep. Preheat deep-fryer to 375°F.
2. Rice: Place rice and water into a small stockpot - do not stir. Bring to a boil, then lid, turn off heat and allow to sit for 20 minutes. This will hold for timing.
3. Vegetables: Cut the broccoli into bite-sized florets. Break the asparagus into 1" sections. Cut the green onions into 1/4" sections. Chop the red and orange peppers into bite-sized pieces.
4. It's on: Toss the pieces of chicken in the starch to coat and shake off any excess. Fry 5-7 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove to a plate with paper towels to soak up any excess oil, then transfer to serving tray. (In my fryer, I can do about 3 breasts at a time.).
5. Meanwhile: Wok fry the garlic, ginger, and chilies over medium heat until fragrant. Cut one chili open. Stir in the Hoisin, sugar, vinegar, and sherry. Bring just to a boil then transfer 90% to a serving bowl. To the remainder, add all of the veggies at once and stir-fry just until barely cooked then transfer to a serving bowl.
6. Everything should time out about right. Since everyone in our house likes a different amount of sauce, we plate up our rice, then using the wok, toss together our own veggies, chicken and sauce. Spice lovers can slice open additional chilies for their individual dishes. Serve with soy sauce.