Bite-sized chicken pieces deep-fried until shatteringly crisp, then tossed in a glossy sweet, tangy, and gently spicy soy-and-vinegar sauce sparked with dried chilies, garlic, and ginger. An icon of American-Chinese cooking.
Hunan chef Peng Chang-kuei, who fled to Taiwan with the Nationalists after the civil war, first improvised this dish in Taipei in 1953 for a state banquet honoring U.S. Admiral Arthur Radford, naming it for the fearsome Qing general Zuo Zongtang from his home province. His original was savory and unsweetened; when Peng opened a restaurant near the U.N. in New York around 1973, he sweetened and crisped it for American tastes, and it exploded into a nationwide favorite he barely recognized.
A craggy, crackling crust gives way to juicy chicken, all lacquered in a sticky sauce that hits sweet, then sour, then a slow chili warmth. Garlic and ginger run underneath, and the dried chilies smoke at the edges. Each piece is glossy and irresistibly sticky-fingered.
A cornstarch coating and double-frying drive off surface moisture to build an extra-crisp shell that survives saucing. The sauce is reduced separately to a glaze so it clings as a glossy lacquer rather than soaking the crust soggy.
Variations
Peng's original savory unsweetened Hunan style, General Ching's chicken, baked or air-fried lighter versions, broccoli-added American takeout style
On the Palate
Where General Tso's Chicken sits in the American-Chinese flavor cloud
Reduce the sauce to a glossy glaze on its own and coat the chicken only at the last second — the double-fried shell has to stay crisp under the lacquer, not soak soft.
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 15 min
Cut boneless chicken thigh into bite-sized chunks and marinate in soy sauce, egg, and rice wine.
- 23 min
Toss the marinated chicken in cornstarch until each piece is thickly coated.
- 33 min
Whisk a sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, stock, and a little cornstarch slurry.
- 48 min
Deep-fry the chicken in batches at 180C until golden and crisp, then drain.
Watch outThe oil is hot enough when a piece dropped in sizzles up fast; fry to deep golden and crisp, not pale — pale means the oil was too cool.
- 54 min
Fry a second time briefly for extra crunch and set aside.
- 62 min
In a hot wok with a little oil, sizzle dried red chilies, minced garlic, and ginger until fragrant.
Watch outSizzle the chilies, garlic and ginger just until fragrant — pull back the instant they smell nutty, before the garlic browns and turns bitter.
- 73 min
Pour in the sauce and simmer until it thickens to a glossy glaze.
Watch outThe sauce is ready when it thickens to a shiny glaze that streaks the wok and drips slowly off the spatula.
- 82 min
Add the fried chicken, toss to coat, finish with scallions, and serve at once.
