General Tso's Chicken
August is here! And with it is my motivation to write more often on the blog. The goal this month is one blog post a week! So here’s hoping haha. July was long. Work was hard but so was the reward at the end of it. We started the month with a big high but closed it with a serious low. Among all of it, I was trying to find time to edit this recipe. I made this recipe back in January and since then, its content production kept getting floated away. It’s gone through two iterations of edits, two voice-overs (dare you to listen to the videos and figure out where that happened) and honestly, a lot of confusion about what I should write about it. Every recipe comes with a story, be it funny, boring, sad, lovable, skippable etc. But this really doesn’t have a great story in my life. General Tso’s chicken comes from American Chinese kitchens. It isn’t Chinese one bit, but it has a greater significance in pop culture (specifically, western pop culture) as a symbol for Chinese food. Crispy batter-fried chicken that is doused in a sweet and spicy sauce served over rice, noddles, or just a bed of veggies. While I ate a lot of it in college, it never became a staple to replicate. But on a penchant for Asian food, I decided to make this delicious new recipe. More about this later on, but lets first discuss some highs and lows!
High
I’m finally working with some fun brands! The blog is finally picking up some sponsored content. It took three years but the blog now has enough engagement for it to be used as a channel of dissemination (yes, I am beating around the bush to say that I’m finally an influencer lol). So get ready for some fun association with food brands and interesting recipes!
The podcast was on hiatus through May and June, and its finally live! We were working with a production house for some new episodes. We decided to part ways with that production house which finally allowed us to publish
Lows
Get well soon pup!
The month was mostly great! Then, on the last Friday of the month, we had a little accident. Natasha fell off a box while working out in the morning and hit her head on a wall. She had to undergo some minor plastic surgery but she’s doing much better. She’s a strong gal and given that she hasn’t decided to leave me yet, this incident might move to the list of the highs by the end of the month. Fingers crossed.
Coming back to the chicken— the recipe is inspired by Omnivore’s Cookbook who has the best batter! She uses oil marination and an egg batter to make the chicken super crispy without having to fry it. I hope you like this recipe and give it a try!
Glimpses from the week
Recipe
Ingredients
400 grams chicken thighs, cubed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cornstarch
For the sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sriracha
1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (sub with soy sauce)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
For the stir fry
150 grams of mushrooms sliced
1/2 bell pepper sliced or veggies of your choice
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 inch ginger, minced
4-5 dried whole red chillies
Spring onions (optional)
Method
Combine the chicken pieces, vegetable oil, and salt in a big bowl. Mix well and let it marinate for 10 to 20 minutes.
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside Add the beaten egg into the bowl with the chicken. Stir to mix well. Add the cornstarch. Stir to coat the chicken until it forms an uneven coating with a little dry cornstarch left unattached.
Heat the stir-fry oil in a heavy-duty skillet until hot, until it just starts to smoke. Add the chicken all at once and spread it out into a single layer in the skillet. Separate the chicken pieces with a pair of tongs or chopsticks. Cook without touching the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bottom turns golden. Flip to brown the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a big plate and remove the pan from the stove. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes.
Place the pan back onto the stove and turn to medium heat. You should still have 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. Add the dried chilli pepper, garlic, and ginger. Cook and stir a few times until it releases its fragrance.
Stir the sauce again to dissolve the cornstarch completely. Pour it into the pan. Stir and cook until it thickens, when you can draw a line on the bottom with a spatula without the sauce running back immediately.
Add back the chicken pieces. Stir to coat the chicken with sauce, 30 seconds. Transfer everything to a plate immediately.
Serve hot as main over steamed rice
