How I optimized General Tso's Chicken for Busy Home Cooks (3 Methods)

[@rileywebb4178]

An even lazier option is to take Popeye's popcorn chicken or frozen popcorn protein and combine with homemade sauce

[@Leto617]

given the price in store, just order out, probably be cheaper, lol

[@egusisoup1826]

​@@Leto617Not even close. The prices at the store are severely inflated. You can get multiple pounds of frozen nuggets for the cost of one takeout container of general tso

[@Yellow.1844]

​@@Leto617 do you know how to do maths?

[@pnourani]

Kenji Lopez has his recipe for this on serious eats if anyone is interested.

[@heyitsbranigan]

Now this is something I'll actually do lol

[@xfactor3000]

Most of the takeout versions of General Tso's Chicken in my area have been Tso Tso.

[@FatalDeceit]

I hate this joke. I'm going to make this chicken and use it nonstop

[@maazuponvelocity]

​@@FatalDeceit lol same

[@katekramer7679]

Nice one, dad!

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

I was also gonna make a Chinese food pun but I figured that was too Lo, Mein.

[@maazuponvelocity]

@@Homer-OJ-Simpson lol

[@hades1737]

Out of all KZbin chef/cooks, I love how you have priorities on the combination of saving time, simplifying, and either reducing calories or making the dish more well-rounded. I always look forward to what you come up with, keep up the good work!

[@jenbcamping]

I love this show because of how he adds in the concept of time to make something, and I wish he would also talk a little bit more about how many perishable ingredients you need to also have on hand, and how well things reheat, because if you're only cooking for one or two people, sometimes dishes with a lot of ingredients end up costing more than just buying it from a local place (if you're picking up, not paying for fees and tip and stuff) - because packages of ingredients like peppers, broccoli, lettuce, and mushrooms, and green onions, etc. etc. are REALLY hard to use up before they go bad if you don't make huge batches of stuff.

[@NotLordAsshat]

That and also how to do substitutions. Often my only option is Walmart or Dillons, and neither have a lot of the nicer pantry items. That and I'm also on a budget. Overall he feels like the kind of well off online cook that still understands average people don't have a lot to work with lol

[@johnpaulboudreaux9569]

ethan's a lot more enjoyable and useful to watch than joshua weissman, that's for sure

[@OdraMH]

Thank you for including the method to make it closer to takeout version, a lot of youtubers jump in with "better" and "healthier" and forget that some of us just want the closest approximation to the flavors that comforted us through the rough spots, much appreciated.

[@jeckert547]

Ethan, almost all of your videos seem to ask the question “how can we cut the calories” and it’s just awesome. With your advice, I have been incorporating more low calorie, good eating into my day to day meals. They’re the meals I look forward to the most. I have been eating your chicken quesadilla recipe like… 4-5 times a week. I’m realizing that flavor doesn’t need to equal excessive oils and cheeses. Capstone of this realization… pickled onions. Anyway, I can tell just three minutes in, this video is another banger.

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

I agree. I’ve used his low Calorie sauces and dips. I would have never thought Greek yogurt or (cottage cheese) could make a nice base for a sauce or dip. I use a chipotle - Greek yogurt (plus herbs and a little oil) sauce frequently for my Chicken meals that are often on rice or quinoa.

[@yaqubebased1961]

Try sumac, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley on freshly chopped onions if you don't have pickled onions. Also I just can't go back to plain ol' greek yogurt after I discovered tzatziki sauce

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

@@yaqubebased1961 I'm not familiar with tzatziki sauce but looked it up. It seems like a savory yogurt. And it seems like there are different ways of making because when I look up the nutrition, I get various answers from 0 or very little protein to high protein. seems it's high protein if you use mostly greek yogurt to make it?

[@yaqubebased1961]

@@Homer-OJ-Simpson you have to use greek yogurt, shredded cucumber (salt it now to release liquid as we'd have to drain it anyway), extra virgin olive oil and white vinegar with a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio (preference), minced or crushed garlic, then add it all together plus more salt and black pepper. Lastly you can also add some chopped herbs as well (I use dill). It goes well with everything but especially good with any protein wrap

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

@@yaqubebased1961 definitely giving that a try. Thanks!

[@frattysatty8637]

I was one of the voters who said they'd cooked it one time and never again. The chicken turned out perfect, but it was a pain in the butt to accomplish. So, I am very glad to see this video! Thanks!!

[@jonsible]

The side broccoli, when not overly steamed, adds some nice freshness and - crucially - soaks up the sauce beautifully. General Tso's broccoli (no deepfrying) can be super satisfying as a weeknight meal.

[@ieatstheinternet]

Its odd I don't think I see it with broccoli too often. Bell peppers on the other hand seem like a staple ingredient. I wonder if this is a regional thing.

[@jonsible]

@@ieatstheinternetNew Englander here...I have never seen a bell pepper near General Tso's. Must be regional, interesting!

[@Olive_O_Sudden]

It's a delicious and nutritious garnish.🥦

[@marksafe5463]

I have this weird thing with general Tso chicken where I have to have broccoli and rice with it because that’s what the takeout restaurants always did. I love the way the sauce tastes with the broccoli.

[@thereturnfc]

Broccoli is there to cut oily taste that overwhelms after a few bites of the chicken… it’s called เลี่ยน in Thailand. A word that express for a food that is overwhelm by richness and oily so much that you don’t enjoy the rest of the meal/dish

[@lamemechose7072]

I need broccoli too. But I ran out of broccoli when I made it a few years ago & used snow peas instead. The textural difference wasn’t as big, but the flavor actually worked better! Also works with snap peas, carrots, & baby corn (I tested all 3 after the snow pea revelation.)

[@NGEvangeliman]

If anyone wants the broccoli you can blanch them in boiling water for a bit and or flash fry them in the high heat oil to preserve the green and crispness.

[@RVecc]

As an American, I thought I'd never say this, but THANK YOU for using metrics on your measurements. I don't know how many recipes I've gone through only to find cups, tsp, and tbsp weren't being used properly and to have what i made "not come out right" because the person that wrote the recipe used dry measure cups for liquids or vice versa. Or the writer did something else like convert their oz of ingredient into cups... Also, cups of irregularly shaped ingredients (e.g. "cup of broccoli" or any "cup of..." sliced or julienned produce) is the most asshatteriest measure of those types of ingredients ever...

[@athletesu_]

With the air fried version, try adding some crushed corn flakes to the breading station. Makes the texture more similar to real general tso.

[@EthanChlebowski]

Good call, that would definitely add that extra missing texture!

[@WingfanSports]

100% corn flakes add that missing crunch. Works well on homemade chicken tenders

[@Dad_Lyon]

Corn flakes, meaning the cereal?

[@OPTEK5]

@@Dad_Lyon Correct

[@GroberWeisenstein]

Cornflakes is not the way to achieve the authentic crunch it is instead a simple technique.

[@JPDillon]

I would like to see Ethan do a follow-up video with some other Sauces that would work great with this fry method. Orange Chicken, Sweet and Sour, etc.

[@ThyVincent]

I just wanted to tell you that the format of this video is really awesome! Combining the ease/health/blind test along with the presentation pace really presents your methods as credible, worthwhile, and reasonably doable for the interested.

[@brucetidwell7715]

I say it almost every week, but your deep dive comparison tests are just SO helpful! If I kept a little jar of Orange Chicken sauce and General Tso's in the fridge, my only problem would be keeping enough nuggets in the freezer! That might be all I ever ate. I rough chop a baby bok choy (leaves and all) and add it to my Orange Chicken. It's really tasty and actually adds vitamins with a welcome change of texture that doesn't leave me feeling like I've made any sacrifice for the sake of being "healthy" at all. Not sure what would go well with General Tso's.

[@boblangford81]

I make it once a month… I knew I was weird. I was a server at PF Changs in college and got their recipes from the head chef. It’s absolutely amazing. The beauty is once you make the sauce you can store it and do new concepts with the sauce. Example, Dark sauce can yield Mongolian ribs or Mongolian green beans and it would change your life.

[@baddiemcbadbad9231]

Hook a brother up with that recipe

[@_JoeMomma]

@@baddiemcbadbad9231no shit don’t keep that secret from us

[@armastat]

I really like how you offer options and different methods. Many other cooking channels can learn from that.

[@madame.banoffee]

Moved to rural Germany, take out- none here. So I‘ll have to make it from scratch, I don’t mind the effort. This is so right on, Ethan.

[@Ouzzel]

I made it at home maybe 5 times and quickly realized this was worth paying to just get. It actually taught me a great lesson of using going out to eat for stuff I definitely wouldn't make at home vs just getting something generic.

[@gankhiskhan5140]

Honestly. Like I won't make sushi at home. But ill easily make a burger at home. I can make stir fry and chicken fried rice.. but certain things like general tsos chicken etc. Is not worth the time for me to do.

[@Lucretia9000]

Can’t get it here.

[@cmiller6352]

Yep. I can grill steaks, burgers, smoke baby back ribs or pork butt (long processes, but mostly hands off work), but certain things are best left to a commercial kitchen.

[@jenbcamping]

Yeah, like I've gotten pretty good at making amazing steaks, but if I want a slow-roasted Prime Rib, I go and get one. I just can't do that at home - not in the same way and not even for less money. I love the honesty of this show.

[@troublesome07]

Took me like 40 minutes beginning to end. and that was with me measuring things out and watching the video. I did it in the air fryer. I've eaten a lot of takeout Gen tso, this sauce was better by far. Better if you deep fry but I didn't bother. Turned out quite crispy.

[@farmageddon]

Great video! I'm standing in my kitchen right this second shooting a General Tso's video! I made about 30 different versions over the past month and noticed a lot of the same things you did. The problem with the batter of most takeout versions is that they tend to use only cornstarch and whole egg. I think it's the fat in the egg yolk that makes it so cakey and spongy. Also, the fact that there is no gluten in the cornstarch makes their batter soggy as soon as it hits the sauce. Kenji Lopez's version for the fried chicken was the best - by far - but the crust was a bit too tough, so I think it needed to be made a tad lighter with more cornstarch. Most takeout sauces are an absolute travesty. Just like you stated - they are totally one-dimensional in the sweet note. Others at more traditional places I've tasted were a bit too tart and just not balanced. A good GT sauce should be sweet/sour/spicy/savory. The best solution I've found is to use brown sugar in a smaller quantity and to blend white vinegar with unseasoned rice vinegar in chicken stock. I was able to finally get to sauce I really enjoyed after testing about 30 different versions and combining the best elements of each one. The deep-fry/freeze/deep-fry is the method most takeout places that I've spoken with use. It's just the cornstarch only + whole egg combo that makes their batter so soggy after saucing. I thoroughly enjoyed your video! I hope you do more in the takeout series! Cheers!

[@wonderhwu]

Great tips, thanks!

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

There's a takeout place nearby that has a really spicy GT sauce, and I always have to ask them to dial the spice back a bit because of my acid reflux... but yeah, most places are 100% about the sweet.

[@mlgray40]

My wife and I used to get General Tso's at a local Chinese place and loved it. they went out of business and all the other local places have terrible general tso's chicken. it is always mushy and soggy with a super thin sauce. Not at all what I want or like. So, I made this today! I did the double fry then froze it and will heat it up in the air fryer. I used thigh meat and it is crispy and delicious. I did double up on the sugar and I liked the sauce. Next time i think I will use about half as much black vinegar. I thought it was a little too present in the sauce for my taste. Keep it up I enjoy your videos!

[@sunjet00]

Ethan, I tried your recipe tonight, did not have chicken breast on hand so I use chicken thighs. The chicken came out just divine, so soft and juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside. Thank you so much (dziekuje bardzo) for sharing the best recipe.

[@cyborgnj]

Thigh meat is the way to go, Back in NJ or NYC they never use breast meat, too dry

[@sarajenkins9551]

This is awesome! I've never even considered making this because I thought it would be too hard! Your suggestion to pre fry and freeze the chicken opens up a ton of weeknight options. You definitely get the home cook who likes to produce delicious food, but on a time, energy, and money budget. Thanks for your inspiring content!!

[@RR-VanityInKnickers]

I completely agree! I can get boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.99 a pound on sale and do a bunch of these over the weekend to store for the week. Then whip up whichever sauce I'm in the mood for 😊😊

[@armastat]

if u want quick AND GOOD try a frozen box of Innovasian General Tso from the store (air fryer) over their frozen rice (microwave), or better yet Uncle Ben's 90 second rice packages, take 10 minutes and is actually very close to restaurant style. I used to make a trip to the Chinese restaurant once a week for takeout Tso - now i only eat it at home.

[@TheCinnamondemon]

im vegetarian and i do this with falafel all the time, goes straight in the freezer after deep frying and airfried later. even if im planning to eat it the next day. taste + texture is infinitely better than leaving it in the fridge and/or microwaving.

[@oblongnoodle8557]

Tien Tsin chilis are the 100% best option for this dish no questions asked. I spent about 2 months perfecting my version a few years ago and I had to order them, but it was totally worth it.

[@markrichardson5796]

Thanks Ethan. Made 4 batches tonight in the air fryer and wacked some in the freezer for later. The kids loved it. Much nicer than supermarket stuff and more flavour. Excellent recipe. Thanks for all your work bud.

[@gilsolano6354]

Ethan, You are wonderful, thoughtful and honest! Thank you for taking this journey. Making food, testing it and giving us your findings! Your tweeks to recipes and the variations during the preparations are amazing. You are doing everything I would want, if I had more hours to my day. Your passion for what you are doing is SINCERE! I appreciate you and your labor immensely. THANK YOU SIR!!!

[@dfolz1101]

Ethan has no idea what he's done for me by making this one.

[@aadirao9401]

He probably has some idea

[@dimitrinikolaev5932]

for a super quick sauce, i use ketchup, sweet chili paste, hoisen sauce and a little bit of soy sauce. super fast and only a few ingredients you need on hand.

[@Heidi2003]

My husband's birthday is tomorrow. He asked me to make General Tso's for him as his gift. You uploaded this at the perfect time! Thanks!

[@troublesome07]

Made this today. It was dope. Air fryer only. Substituted AP flour with rice flour. Surprisingly crispy. Didn't have garlic chili paste, whatever that is (lol), so I threw some garlic and thai chillis and a touch of oil in the mortar and pestle. Also did half mirin, half rice vinegar for the sauce, and a bit less sugar. I also didn't have dried chilis so I toasted some thai chilis. two for the chili garlic paste and two for the sauce itself. It was perfect. really enjoyed this thanks a lot!

[@undeadjohnson1]

I must say, seeing that poll the other day about General Tao made me excited knowing Ethan would likely roll out a video with it soon. While I have only made it a small handful of times, I’m feel inspired to try it again!

[@OrganicGreens]

I love your channel man. You always make things simple and fast for the home cook. And all the meals you feature focus on taste rather than looking fancy or being trendy. I appreciate you man keep being yourself.

[@MindZye]

8:07 - Honestly amazed you were able to get that Chosen Foods oil spray to actually *spray.* Regardless of how much I shake it, it only ever comes out as a stream.

[@chasecomfort3940]

I love these hybrid methods of doing most of the cooking/prep on a weekend and then finishing up during the week. Thanks for the recipe!

[@HMFan2010]

Ethan: made this last night with the double deep fry method and was so incredibly pleased with the results. Whenever I’ve tried to make Chinese food, the seasoning always comes out very bland, uninteresting, and overly homogenous. This recipe was FULL of flavor: spiciness, hotness, sweetness, and truly worthy of a Chinese restaurant. The only thing I added was a tsp. of ground black pepper to the flour dredge. It’s just me so I had one serving last night and froze the other three. I plan on taking one of those and doing a re-fry tonight. I have a few “go-to” recipes when guests come over and this will DEFINITELY be one of them! Thanks again for your recipe and research.

[@kristiscabanashorts]

As a Chef, I love videos like this because I can steal your sauce recipe (which looks great BTW and has all the ingredients it SHOULD have in it and none of the stuff it shouldn't (like the quote says; don't fix what ain't broken)) and make my own chicken recipe how I need. Over the past 3 years I have become severely intolerant to gluten. IDK why. IDK what happened. But gluten makes me sick. Found a great gluten free recipe for the chicken but their sauce was a little oddjob. Thanks for the sauce, Ethan. Good job! BTW thanks for doing GRAMS. We all about that life!

[@rea5690]

Oh my goodness, this was so good. I used the air fryer, and I was a little reluctant to dump the raw chicken and the marinade all into the flour/cornstarch mixture, but I am so glad I did because it gave it these crunchy chewy edges just like General Tao’s is supposed to have. Thank you so much for the recipe and details, my husband was blown away 😁

[@Andrew-he1sh]

Recipe Error::::: So it doesn't look like you reply to any comments but I'll post this anyway in case someone finds it helpful.. For the dredge... In the video it is shown/mentioned 100g flour and 25g corn starch.. but in the written recipe on the site via the link in the description it is written 200g flour and 200g corn starch.. while the 10g salt and 3g baking powder remain the same..

[@Natalia-wl3jr]

blown away by the quality of your videos. you have every little detail covered!!! congrats

[@pmlabowicz3903]

Pro tip: Trader Joe's frozen orange chicken. Once my friend showed me those I never attempted to make it myself again. It's incredible, and I'm not one for frozen items, this one is an anomaly.

[@kanders7391]

For fastest, I generally just buy prebreaded frozen chicken, microwave them, put Kikoman orange chicken glaze on the pieces, but first I steam the rice in a rice cooker & steam the broccoli for 16 min, then put it all together in a bowl. A little Ponzu sauce on the short grain rice. Ponzu sauce is a bit less salty than soy & has lemon or lime in it. Also you can mimic the jack in the box teriyaki bowl with Kikoman Teriyaki baste & glaze sauce with baked chicken pieces and steamed broccoli and sautéed onions over short grain rice.

[@FinianSeaberg]

Honestly, your version sounds tasty, and I will have to try it. My fave so far is Seonkyoung Longest’s Asian at Home General Tsos sauce, I have taken her orange chicken recipe and adopted it to make a stir fried version of general tsos, with the same sweet, tangy, spicy general tsos sauce.

[@djdavecharles]

Great video, as a Brit we have to make Gen Tso at home because the takeaways in the UK don’t make it! And we add broccoli on serving!

[@chellastation]

I am more of an Air Fryer rather than a deep fry (mostly because I don't like the popping of oil from the fryer), but the deep fryer of #4 looks and sounds amazing 😋

[@rebelfriend5172]

I partook in that poll and literally the day before I found a new Chinese place that makes the best one I’ve had yet. This came out at the perfect time

[@TravelGeeq]

I love this channel because you answer questions that I never thought I had.

[@FunSpiritman]

I love your channel. I like how you break down a common cooking problem (scientifically, practicality, nutritionally, etc.) time and time again. I love General Tsao Chicken but wouldn't dream of trying to make it myself.

[@ec6405]

With two small children and crazy days, this is great just for general meal prepping and having a quick go to dinner. I make a good orange chicken, now to add this sauce to the fridge and some bags of chicken to the freezer. More time swinging the girls around outside. I can't wait to try this sauce!

[@FJLC93]

Thank you for editing out the chewing sounds from your tasting shots!!! 10/10!!

[@Sargentleman]

Those are the best part, though?

[@бронза.вафля.конус]

​@@Sargentlemangross. It's disgusting unless it's crunchy

[@Sargentleman]

@@бронза.вафля.конус Schlopp, schlopp, hoszzzk, schlopp, schlopp, gulp. Delicious.

[@бронза.вафля.конус]

@@Sargentleman lol I don't have misophonia. Better luck next time! I can tolerate all things related to chewing except slurping. If you can imitate slurping via text, I'll give you a cookie

[@Youre-Welcome]

The actual laziest way...I buy popcorn chicken at the grocery store, sauce from Leeann Chin, and instant pot some rice. It's not typically how I would cook such things, but sometimes, you do what works. 😊

[@jesusofsuburbia3675]

Instant rice? I thought rice is lazy enough with you just needing to pour rice and water and let it cook.

[@nick263]

@@jesusofsuburbia3675 cooking rice in a pressure cooker not instant rice

[@arabscamel1034]

​@@jesusofsuburbia3675 You have to wash the rice several times and then you have to either cook it on the stove which is extra dishes or a rice cooker which is also dishes but not as bad. Rice is sticky to pans, so you have to add in the effort to wash up afterwards. Also, depending on climate or even the day, getting the right consistency on the rice could be a challenge for a lot of home cooks. Sometimes the more consistent and easiest option would be to just use a prepackaged rice. There's actually not much of a health disadvantage to packaged rice compared to most foods you buy that's been heavily preserved. A good brand typically will use salt and a little starch to preserve rice with not many additives. The same way they do in Chinese cooking. If you notice the differences between fried rice from a Chinese takeout compared to a home cook, they're able to get a more separate/dry texture on the rice due to the salting and starching to prevent spoilage and mitigate moisture. Sometimes the frozen or packaged ingredients are just as healthy if not fresher than what you could get in a grocery store.

[@jesusofsuburbia3675]

@@arabscamel1034 @ArabsCamel "several times-" bro a few rinses to wash the starch (2 in my cases) isn't that hard??? And what do you mean by "depending on the climate-" rice are cooked the same whether there's a monsoon out or the summer. If anything it's so hard to f*ck up cooking rice. "Challenge to home cooks" yeah lol.

[@robertjohnpecayo8642]

​@@arabscamel1034 Getting rice right using a rice cooker is very easy, even kids can make rice. So if you like rice, it is very worth to invest in a rice cooker. You dont really need to wash rice, that's a remnant of the old times when there are physical dirt and rocks in the rice, but in these modern times with modern agriculture, rice you buy in supermarket are pretty clean already(the free starch thing doesn't factor as much as long as you get the water ratio right) I guess the problem that non-asians encounter most is estimating the amount of water to add, as that heavily depends on the type of rice used.

[@mcbrainstem]

Been looking forward to this video since you posted the question

[@RTdances]

i do a vegetarian version periodically since i always have tofu on hand, but i typically use just cornstarch (sometimes with a tbsp of flour but usually not) and do a shallow “fry” with just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. i also always get lazy on the sauce, so i will be giving this sauce a try!

[@kane2742]

Tempeh would also probably be good for a vegetarian version, depending on which taste/texture you prefer.

[@tebbydear90]

My word, it's like my NSA guy talked to you about my weekend. I craved General Tso's, and wanted to make it to save myself some money, but instead went out to eat because of those reasons you mentioned. A bit scary, ngl. But congrats on such a good prediction!

[@LyndseyMacPherson]

This is so awesome! Thanks. Not only do we not make it at home, 3/4 of the restaurants who make it, aren't making the actual General Tso's. Most often, they pass off what is essentially barbecue or sweet and sour as GT's. Bleck. I agree, it shouldn't be that sweet. I would assert the broccoli is actually really important. But it shouldn't be a few token pieces of rubbery veg. The real deal will have generous portions of perfectly steamed, never mushy or rubbery, bright green broccoli, so that the florets capture and hold some of that amazing sauce and balance the carbi-ness of the dish.

[@gundropmusic]

looks dope. now that I think of it that sauce would also be great over fried cauliflower. There's gobi manchurian with a bit different sauce, and its bomb. Just skip the marinade and use a batter breading of flour, seasoning, water

[@bash3681]

Would love to see more high protein quick and easy meal recipes

[@sgholt]

I make it at home many times....I have a great recipe and instructions....probably one of my favorite dishes.. Thanks Ethan

[@walrusrobot5483]

I love how you never end up settling on the pronunciation!

[@patlawler5532]

Thank you for the recipe 'push'. I bought a bag of frozen, deep fried, chicken nuggets from Aldi a month ago, planning to make General Tso's or Orange Chicken in my AF. This week is it!

[@Rachara]

So regarding cutting calories - I know it's not "traditional", but when I do general tso at home, I just skip deep frying the chicken altogether. Basically what I do, using a wok, is cook the chicken, set it aside, then continue using the wok to make the aromatics, sauce, thicken, etc, then throw the chicken back in to sauce it up and move it to the rice. Basically Ethan's process, my ingredients are slightly different but looking forward to trying this version especially with the black vinegar. It uses one pan (the wok) and takes like 15 min to cook. I can have it done faster than my rice (I don't have a rice cooker and instead steam it on a pot on the stove, comes out perfect in 20 min)

[@rachelmarie7473]

I just bought a vacuum sealer w freezer bags, def giving this recipe a try!! Thanks 😊

[@devaliant1]

Don't vacuum these tho, just freeze them on a tray and transfer to bag. Keeps them fluffier and easy to take out however many you need at a time.

[@Heylon1313]

I like that someone like me who isn't necessarily interested in the comparison can still just get a nice recipe out of this, thank you

[@JamesJones-uu7ou]

I cooked this today as you set out, save that I used rice wine instead of black vinegar. It was good!

[@ithinkabout4369]

Love this dish. In Germany, it isn't really available otherwise, so I have made it multiple times myself. But yeah, very time consuming to make. My trick to make it more healthy is just to leave out the rice. Don't need it if the chicken is already crusted in carbs.

[@napoleonfeanor]

Also German and never heard of it but it looks like a guilty pleasure of Americans

[@derg6222]

das ungesunde ist das reudige öl und das billige weißmehl, in dem das fleisch frittiert wird, und der hohe zucker und salz gehalt der soße und nicht der weiße reis, du otto.

[@dzk004223]

To add, I like using cauliflower rice or using shirataki noodles/rice so it is lower in calories, but highly filling. Easier method is to just sauté veggies if having something in the side is a must

[@sofiak2750]

I mean rice is only like 260 calories per serving? It’s not that much. When I make this dish it’s only about 750 cals total, very reasonable

[@andy-gt2kc]

@@sofiak2750 to most non Americans that is pretty high. It is fried chicken so idk I just go all out with stuff like this, but I am sure many Europeans wouldnt go past 500 cals for a meal

[@lolajacomino6574]

Definitely I’m doing this one next. I’m defrosting my chicken now 👍🏼 thank you for all the perfect work you do. Love your recipes and the way you educate us and explaine ❤

[@jintsuubest9331]

Don't need to defrost. Just airfry it or deep fry it straight out of the freezer.

[@felixramosFIR9]

This is also a good technique for steak fingers and pork cutlet nuggets. How you prepare the coating makes a difference. I use flour, egg with cornstarch and pancake batter mix, and panko crumbs for the final crunch coat or cornflakes for pork cutlets. Then same results to finish with a cream gravy or dipping sauces.

[@sofiak2750]

I’ve been making general tso at home for like two years now, thank god I got an air fryer. I’ve never actually tried it in a restaurant because it’s not very popular here in the UK, but the homemade version SLAPS. The secret is the shaoxing rice wine 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

[@shoobzy3431]

Does the UK even have general tso? I've never heard or seen it here.

[@sofiak2750]

@@shoobzy3431 not that I’m aware of, no, I just didn’t want to say we 100% don’t have it in case somethings changed in the past few years

[@peterdoe2617]

There is a recipe from "school of wok" from Covent Garden, London. So it make it's way to the UK. But in the US, it's really all over the place. I'm usually cooking the version from Seonkyoung Longest. Even translated it to german and posted it. (Naming my source of inspiration, of course.)

[@H2Dwoat]

Hi, deep frying always puts me off so an air fryer option is interesting. It’s what to do with all that oil after cooking. What do you do with it? Cleaning it, storing it and how often, if any, times can it be reused. I liked that you addressed this 👍.

[@kellyfrancis8999]

I’ve made it a handful of times. Vegetarian kind though, with tofu. Looked like it and tasted good!

[@djefbrak559]

My method: shallow frying! Saves time if you don't mind skipping the second fry (and thus the crunchiness). You also don't need to wait long for the oil to cool down. So you can use the wok short after for your veggies. Add the chicken to the sauce pot to coat then add that to the veggies and serve with rice 👌

[@TheDeaf424242]

It's insane how good this channel is. It feels illegal.

[@Sevon071122]

Thank you for bringing up the over-sweetness of the takeout sauces. I got some takeout a week ago and it was supposed to be two different types of chicken, but they tasted the same and were so sweet they could've been a dessert dish.

[@davidpalmer7175]

You're the only one who did it right. I saw a documentary about the Chinese chef who actually invented General's chicken back in the early 1970s. He said to ONLY use "white meat"(chicken breast). Most use junk THIGH meat unless you request white meat. They'll do it if you're lucky.

[@TravlwithMJ]

This is a great video, I love the breakdown of each step, and the comparisons. I'm going to try an air-fried version with cauliflower. Not to be healthy, just because I don't like chicken and I don't like to deep fry at home. This video has inspired me. Thank you!

[@widdershinnz]

I think the reveal of the text as the oil spread to the pan was such smooth editing. I think your taste tests would benefit from two lazy suzannes underneath so you could randomize your samples more smoothly.

[@RisenThe]

Another one is breadcrumb air fried chicken. Soaks up any sauce really well and stays crunchy. I usually do 75/25 Panko/plain.

[@8_six7_five3_09]

Thanks for the awesome video, Ethan. Would you PLEASE consider doing a series like this with ingredients we can prep, freeze, and then use in a variety of recipes during the week...like real recipes and homemade versions of our favorite freezer aisle snacks, not salads, lol. I love salads, but everyone does that already. Thank you 🙏🏾

[@phillipstewart5732]

great recipe, will be making this, also i love the editing on the label at 6:46 when the oil spread out and "revealed" the temp

[@allenblum6257]

I appreciate your giving measurements in grams. I started weighing food months ago when I realized that the standard nutrition label also gives portion sizes in grams. So I can put the bowl on the scale, zero out the bowl weight, and start adding stuff to the bowl until I get the portion I want. And, of course, the math is easier.

[@markrosens]

Except for the main ingredient. 3 chicken breasts?? Huge fail, that could be anything from 15 to 30 oz, pretty big difference. Any professional cook's recipe should be reasonable specific for stuff like this. Not to mention, as several comments point out, the cornstarch/flour amounts and ratio on the website recipe are WAY out of whack. Despite several comments to this effect going back over 6 months, its still hasn't been corrected. Beginning to think this guy is all hat, no cattle.

[@leedoss6905]

One dish I simply cannot stand and can’t say anything good about it. But yours looks good for people that like this stuff.

[@motofunk1]

Could you do an episode on deep frying with different types of oils? Would be nice to get some info on healthy vs flavor options.

[@clashwithkeen]

I've been using Made With Lau's recipe for the past couple years and make it at least 3 times a month for a family of 4. The whole process is less than 45 minutes for 8 - 12 servings in order to have leftovers. I don't really understand where all the alleged time is going if you're multitasking during the process. The only main difference is his is a batter instead of a dredge. The freezing for later step is a nice addition that I might start doing in the future. Normally we don't really care about the leftovers being crispy the next day. I'm personally opposed to air fryers in general considering how little you can put in them and the redundancy if you already own a toaster oven so I wont be testing that route. If I'm feeling extra lazy I'll just use bottled general tso sauce from House of Tsang. It tastes basically identical to the take-out sauce.

[@davidodonnell1162]

Nice video. I made the sauce and stir fry with chicken/ vegetables. Avoided all the frying and came out awesome!

[@chortlesinthecorner]

The Trader Joe's kit works for me. I add a good amount of hot sauce to it, but it's great in the air fryer since you don't have to deal with the first frying.

[@devaliant1]

Been doing this a few years; buying 4kg of chicken THIGHS, chopping in 2-4, deep fry once and freezing. I remove some of the fat for the kids, but honestly leaving that on gives a super tasty "pocket" of juicy fats in the finished nugget. Whip up any sauce in the wok and throw the refried nugs into it, toss it briefly and serve immediately. I would also add a little warning about the cornstarch slurry; lowering temp before putting it in, or it might bead up into gummy starch bubbles.

[@ek9589]

Ethan’s really gotta be one the best cooking KZbin channels

[@katekramer7679]

I love how much you kept commenting on how much better your homemade sauce was.

[@philipstaite4775]

Thanks for this! Perfect time to see this. I love General Tso's Chicken. I like spicy, so getting away from the sweetness of take-out will be a good thing. We have a new air fryer I have not used yet, and we're trying to eat healthier so... This checks all the boxes. Definitely going to try! I'm going to go with the simple air-fry only as a first attempt.

[@adiero]

Thanks for this. Making this at home once a month for 2 decades. Forgot how easy and good this is. Never tried the frozen method. Oh, a hint for the coating: try it with buckwheat flour. Bit of cornstarch, thighs. If I have homemade chicken broth, I use that in the sauce, but reduce it first, then in with the ginger, garlic, and ketchup instead of hoi-sin ! Oh yeah! Calories be damned.

[@diego2112gaming]

Well damn. Now I know how to make literally the only thing I ever order from the local Chinese joint at home. And I can make the sauce spicier to boot. You really are making the case as to why I need a kitchen scale.

[@heatherbrand33]

Oh my gosh - thank you this meal prep idea! I am going to use it for lemon chicken and all manner of dishes. Love your channel 😊

[@AerysBat]

When ordering takeout, I always ask for 50% sugar. Most restaurants have no problem doing this kind of adjustment. Very interesting comparison!

[@yitziyyb]

I've been waiting for you; someone like you doing this recipe!!!

[@jvoris]

You can also freeze that sauce in little muffin tins or even just a large sheet you can easily break up on a sheet pan. Then just thaw some in a bit of hot water in a ziplock while heating up the chicken. Making a shitload of that ahead to have on hand makes weeknight prep that much easier.

[@felixramosFIR9]

I just had General Tso's tonight. I fried the chicken nuggets yesterday with no marinade and ate them with buffalo sauce. Tonight, I air fried them to heat them up and served with Tso's sauce. The best for me is also the double fried, then the fried with air fry reheating. I also buy frozen generic high quality nuggets and use those when I don't have time. The sauce makes more of a difference to me if I make it myself. The takeout and bottled need to be "fixed" with some hot oil. I'm one of those people with low cholesterol and so fried food isn't a problem for me, but we do use our air fryer often now to reheat and resauce to refresh foods. In the end, the more time, the better the food, but the techniques shown allow for multiple flavor options to be available more often (Buffalo, Orange, Lemon, and General Tso's).

[@rosemariekury9186]

This looks so good I’m going to try making this tomorrow. Take out is so expensive now and I’m noticing that it doesn’t taste as good. Maybe they’re skimping on ingredients. Not sure if you ever tried this but I buy the frozen sticky rice. I get a few meals from it and many times make my own ham fried rive which is better than takeout. I’m retired but still does take a lot of energy to make any day of the week!

[@jefflatimer01]

Having some buddies over to watch the Master's this weekend. Going fried version and half way there. Nuggets are in freezer. Thanks Ethan for this recipe. Love your content. Cheers!

[@Nehoets]

Nice work Ethan 😊. From frozen gives a far better crust. The water particles in the crust freeze and break open the starch cells which creates more surface area to crisp.

[@jdudleyh]

How about taking the raw chicken pieces, vacuum-sealing them in a bag with a baking soda and/or cornstarch slurry (to tenderize the chicken), sous vide cooking that a bit below temp, then removing from bag, pat dry, dredge in the dry ingredients, and frying it once... ? Goal is crispy outside with a more tender, juicy inside. Heck, you can add some marinade to the bag as well to give some extra flavor to the chicken and/or rice. Edit: I was just thinking you could sous vide the rice too. A search for this reveals rice needs to cook at 200 ° F for around 30 mins and the chicken at 140 ° F for about 90 mins. So you'd probably want to cook the chicken first, cook the rice next (letting the chicken cool a bit), then pat the chicken dry and start the fry. The bonus with this method is you can have portions of chicken and rice vacuum-sealed in your freezer, ready to cook. You can also drop a vac-sealed bag of broccoli in toward the end of the chicken bath.

[@kchan333]

Restaurants "single fry" the chicken and store it in the freezer. Then it's brought out when fried again before it is wok tossed with the sauce. Every Chinese restaurant has a their own proprietary "master" brown sauce that's made in large batches. This is the base and for General Tso chicken and many other dishes. Usually chili sauce, dried chilies, garlic, sugar, vinegar, and corn starch slurry added in for General Tso chicken. Leave out some of the spice, a dash sesame oil and sprinkle some sesame seeds and then you have sesame chicken. If the master sauce sucks then most likely everything at the restaurant sucks...lol

[@Nathan-jw1qn]

You can save yourself some tidying by adding the dry ingredients directly to the chicken bowl, and adding cornstarch directly to the sauce instead of making a slurry. Shallow fry also works for those who avoid deep frying but want the flavour.

[@troublesome07]

i find adding the cornstarch right into the sauce makes little chunks of corn starch. You can break them up but it's kind of annoying. I think that's the point of making a slurry. Not sure though.

[@stultusvenator3233]

This was really good, I have been looking for bulk prep ahead idea's and having you do all the work really helps as well as the food choice.

[@victorugri]

Your videos are unique, best cooking content in KZbin!