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This homemade General Tso's Chicken recipe is better than takeout, with crispy pan-fried chicken tossed in a sweet, savory general tso's sauce made with simple ingredients you already have on hand.
Better-Than-Delivery General Tso’s Chicken (Yes, Really!)
General Tso's Chicken is hands down one of my family's most-requested dinners, and once you try making it at home, you'll never want to order takeout again. This recipe isn't authentic (here is a more authentic recipe) but I love that the ingredients are simple ones I always have on hand and give you the same amazing flavor.
Tip for an even faster dinner: Make the General Tso's sauce ahead of time. You can also coat the chicken in egg and cornstarch a few hours ahead (store in fridge) so everything is ready to cook.
Try more of my Chinese-inspired favorites, like Kung Pao Chicken, Lettuce Wraps, Black Pepper Chicken, Mongolian Beef, and Chow Mein!
How to make General Tso Chicken:
Make Sauce: In a small mixing bowl, whisk all the sauce ingredients then set aside. If you like a more mild flavor, reduce the amount of red pepper flakes or omit them.
Coat Chicken: Combine cornstarch, flour, salt, and pepper in a large ziplock bag. Close it and shake to combine. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites. Dip chicken in the egg whites then let them drip off and drop it into the ziplock bag. Shake until all the chicken is coated.
Fry: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat then pour in half a cup of oil. Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken in batches (don't crowd it!). Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until it is golden brown and cooked through. Remove to a plate.
Combine: Pour sauce into the same pan and simmer until it's heated and thickened. Toss the chicken in the sauce just before serving. Serve with white or brown rice or Kimchi Fried Rice and garnish with green onions and/or sesame seeds. Enjoy immediately!
General Tso’s Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, , cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup oil, (vegetable or canola oil)
- hot cooked white rice, , for serving
General Tso's Sauce:
- 2/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, , packed
- 3 cloves garlic, , minced
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger, , or 1 Tablespoon fresh minced ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Make General Tso's Sauce: Add the sauce ingredients to a bowl and whisk well to combine. Set aside.2/3 cup hoisin sauce, ⅓ cup rice vinegar, ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce, ¼ cup light brown sugar, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- Make breading: Add cornstarch, flour, and salt and pepper to a large ziplock bag and shake to combine. Whisk egg whites in a separate bowl.½ cup cornstarch, ½ cup all-purpose flour, salt and freshly ground black pepper, 2 large egg whites
- Coat chicken: Add chicken pieces to the egg whites and toss to coat. Spoon coated chicken pieces into the ziplock bag, allowing excess egg to drip back into the bowl. Shake the bag to coat chicken evenly in the cornstarch mixture.1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Cook chicken: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Once oil is hot, add some of the chicken (it's best to cook the chicken in 2 or 3 batches, so it browns better). Cook the chicken 2-3 minutes on each side, until the coating is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Remove to a plate. Repeat until all of the chicken has cooked, and set aside on a plate.½ cup oil
- Add sauce: Add the sauce to the pan and simmer until warm and thickened. Toss the chicken in the sauce just before serving.
- Serve with hot cooked white or brown rice. Garnish with chopped green onions.hot cooked white rice
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe February 2016. Updated August 2020, October 2023 and May 2026.
Just letting you know the Navy Seals weren’t formed till 1962 before that there was UDT frog men while the Army Geen Berets “Greenbeans”were just formed in 1952 so it’s very unlikely either were there most probably it would have been CIA as they were quite active in China at that time . Just thought you should know
It was too salty mayb cause I didn’t use low sodium soy sause
The hoison sauce is completely over powering. This tastes nothing like any general tso’s I’ve ever had in my life. I wanted to like it so much after working all day then spending the money and time buying the ingredients then preparing it. My boyfriend and I gave it a try and unfortunately the entire pan went into the garbage. This is a thumbs down for us.
This recipe was delicious! Restaurant quality and we will make it again!!! Thank you for sharing!!!
I was very disappointed after cooking for two hrs. ( mostly the chicken) but I wanted to make this from scratch it looked amazing.. But it tasted just like a soy sauce. Didn’t do anything different except add sesame seeds. Not much sauce left as well…Sorry but DON’T waste your time!!
This recipe was not good. It was actually inedible. The sauce was too overpowering/rich to the point it burned your throat. We tried adding water to our dish to cut the potency of the sauce but it did not work. We spent a lot of time/money and effort on these ingredients and actually preparing the meal. We are super disappointed. We do not recommend this recipe.
I want to take back the negative review I left for this recipe. We heated it up today and added a little bit of water and it was delicious! Tasted just like the restaurant. I tried to take the review down but it isn’t an option to do so! We will make this again and eat the next day. It’s like all of the flavors came together over night.
I absolutely love this dish. My Mother never wanted to cook this because of the corn starch, but I went for it. It was delicious. I have this in my recipe book now, where it will stay.
I made this recipe for my family and it was delicious but very time consuming! I chose to make the stovetop method and my chicken needed to cook way longer than 2-3 minutes per side. It was more like 10-15 minutes to get it to the nice golden brown I wanted. Was it worth the time it took to make it? I’d say it was but just be aware of what you’re getting yourself into.
This was delicious! Just like a restaurant.
This looks so good and looks like plenty of sauce. I hate when you make a recipe like this and it’s got no sauce. I usually double the sauce because of it. I saw this recipe on FB but it looks very dry when done with no sauce for the rice. So I am not sure why it would look so much different. It is supposed to be the same recipe.
Recipe adapted from Tastes Better From Scratch Get the written recipe here: http://po.st/8dht0T