General Tso's chicken

We've tried several Chinese food recipes at this house (Robert loooooooooooves soy sauce), but this one from Tasty Kitchen is the most successful one so far.  I assume it's the cornstarchy mixture that the chicken gets covered in, because it creates a perfect coating and texture once it's fried.  And then there's that sauce... seriously, this is so, so good.  Try it!

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

FOR THE CHICKEN:

1 ½ teaspoons Toasted Sesame Oil

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 egg white

¼ cups plus 2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (original calls for chicken thighs, I used chicken breast)

Canola or vegetable oil, for frying

FOR THE SAUCE:

1 Tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons fresh ginger root, minced

1 cup chicken broth or stock

¼ cups soy sauce

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon Chinese chile-garlic sauce

3 Tablespoons raw (turbinado) sugar

4 scallions, thinly sliced

White or brown rice, for serving

Instructions:

Prep your chicken:
In a mixing bowl, stir together the sesame oil, soy sauce, egg white, and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch until a thick slurry forms. It will look gummy but smooth.

Add the chicken pieces and stir until all are evenly coated. Set chicken aside, covered lightly with plastic wrap, at room temperature for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Begin the sauce:
Add the tablespoon of oil to a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat. Stir the garlic and ginger into the oil and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining sauce ingredients until smooth. Pour into the garlic and ginger, stirring, until the sauce becomes thick and shiny. Once the sauce thickens, lower heat and keep the saucepan over a low burner partially covered to stay warm.

To fry the chicken:
Heat 1/2-inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed, high-sided frying pan or skillet over high heat.  When the oil is shimmering, add one piece of chicken at a time, taking care not to crowd the pan. Cook chicken for 4 minutes on each side, or until deep golden brown and crisp on both sides.  Transfer the fried chicken to a paper towel lined plate and repeat the process until you’ve cooked all the chicken.

Then slide all of the fried chicken into the prepared sauce and toss to coat.  Increase the heat to medium, stir and cook just until hot all the way through.  Sprinkle with sliced scallions and serve immediately over rice.