General Tso's chicken-sort of....

Having seen this recipe on the blog My Adventures in Food...I decided to give it a try. I have not had luck in the past trying to imitate General Tso's chicken. Not sure why, since every Chinese restaurant, even the bad ones, seem to have this down pat. Not me!

What I will say about this recipe is that is is very good. But doesn't taste like General Tso's chicken. :) The chicken is spot-on, but the sauce was to sweet and didn't have the right taste. Worth trying as a not-so-General Tso's chicken. I tweeked the recipe a bit, and added more vegetables.

Sauce:
½ c hoisin sauce
¼ c white vinegar
3 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs cornstarch
1 ½ c water
1 Tbs vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs fresh ginger, minced
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Bag of precut stir fry vegis

Coating and frying

1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 large egg whites
1 ½ c cornstarch
½ c all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
Vegetable oil for frying

To make the sauce, whisk together the hoisin sauce, white vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and water in a bowl. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the hoisin mixture. Stir until the sauce is dark brown and has thickened. Remove from heat and cover.

Cut chicken into 1-inch chunks. Whisk the egg whites in a shallow dish until foamy. Combine cornstarch, flour, and baking soda in a separate shallow dish. Toss half the chicken into the foamy egg whites until well coated, and then dredge the chicken in the cornstarch mixture, making all sides are coated. Transfer chicken to a plate and repeat with remaining chicken.

Heat oil in a fryer (or Dutch oven, or a large wok) until it registers 325ºF. Fry the chicken in batches until golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning pieces over halfway through cooking. Transfer cooked chicken to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.

While frying, heat vegetables in a large skillet coated with cooking spray until tender.

Re-warm the sauce over medium heat until bubbling. Add the chicken pieces and sauce to vegi pan and toss to coat.