This General Tso Chicken Recipe is a flavorful Chinese chicken recipe. Delicious, lightly fried, Chinese style chicken is crispy, sweet, and slightly spicy. 
General Tso Chicken
This General Tso Chicken is near and dear to my heart. It’s actually the first meal my husband, Jared, ever made for me back when we were dating. How lucky am I to have a husband that loves to cook! With a recipe as good and easy as this, you won’t ever have to, or want to, order-out for Chinese food again. Jared actually worked for a Chinese take-out restaurant when he was in high school. He learned how to make a bunch of the dishes, so keep a look out for some of his recipes when you are browsing Favorite Family Recipes. General Tso Chicken was his favorite to make and to eat when he worked there.
How do you pronounce “Tso?”
Some people aren’t quite sure how to pronounce “General Tso.” Some say “General Cho”, others I have heard say “General Sow,” or even “General Toes.” I have always pronounced it “General Soh”, but Jared has always called it “General Chow.” I always thought he was way off but I have come to find out he is technically right. At the Chinese restaurant where he worked, it was pronounced “Chow” and the owners of the restaurant assured him that this is the correct way of saying it. There is the Americanized way of saying and the correct Chinese way of saying it, which is indeed “Chow.” No matter how you say it, people will figure out what you are trying to say sooner or later!
Suggestions for Dressing up this Chicken Recipe
- We love cooking this dish up with our Restaurant Ham Fried Rice and some steamed veggies on the side.
- You can also add pineapple right in with the chicken to make it go further.
- It is also delicious to add bell peppers or chili peppers in with the chicken. Do what you think your family would like best!
- For more of a kick, add a bit more cayenne pepper or even a shake or two of hot sauce. By the same token, if you want it less spicy, only add a bit of cayenne.
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How to make General Tso Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1-2 cups flour for dredging
- oil for frying
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice unsweetened
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger finely grated
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
- 4 green onions sliced
Instructions
- Dredge chicken in flour and fry in oil over medium heat (in a wok or a skillet) until golden brown and crispy. Drain excess oil.
- Sprinkle cayenne over the chicken and keep warm on low heat.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sauce ingredients (sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, and ginger) and heat gently.
- When sauce is smooth and sugar has dissolved, SLOWLY add cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until sauce has thickened to desired thickness.
- Pour sauce in the wok and stir to coat chicken. Stir in green onion and hot red pepper flakes (optional). Remove from heat and serve with fried rice.
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Christine says
This was delicious, just as good as the restaurant!
Alisa F Mosley says
Can you make the sauce ahead of time
Favorite Family Recipes says
I haven’t tried it that way, but I don’t see why not!
Caryn says
I’ve made this at least a dozen times and it continues to be a crowd-pleaser! Thank you so much for posting this!
Echo says
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
MGW says
Loved this recipe. My only problem was the directions did not say to boil the sauce after adding the cornstarch. I followed the directions & the sauce never thickened. I looked at the cornstarch box & it said to boil for 1 minute. I did that & all was great!! Thanks for this great replacement for takeout.
Ashley says
This was fantastic! My husband took one bite and said, “Oh we’re absolutely making this again!” Only change we’ve made is steaming veggies and throwing them into the sauce and chicken. YUM!
Favorite Family Recipes says
We love throwing veggies in the sauce too! Pineapple is good in the sauce too 🙂 So glad you guys liked it!
Gretta says
Making this tonight, can’t wait to try it !!
Ron says
Hi do you have Mongolian beef recipe? If so, please share. Thanks!
Favorite Family Recipes says
Yes we do 🙂 If you do a search for “Mongolian Beef” it will come up. Hope this helps!
Ron says
Thank you! Keep up the good work.
Savannah says
I’m making this soon and wanted to know if you only dredge the chicken in flour, or if it needs to be a flour/egg mixture? Also do I only dredge it once or multiple times to get a thicker breading?
Favorite Family Recipes says
You can do it either way. I seem to get a better coating if I do egg/flour but it depends how thick you want the breading. You can do it multiple times to get a thicker breading if that’s what you want to do!
Zaina says
Hi there! Can I substitute pineapple juice for something else? Orange juice perhaps? I don’t have any pineapple and would love to try this today. Thanks 😀
Favorite Family Recipes says
Yes, you can absolutely use orange juice instead. Hope this helps!
Malinda says
I just tried this recipe and I was expecting it to be a little sweeter. On the other hand, my boyfriend loves it.
Erica says
If you prefer your General Tso chicken to be sweeter, you can always add a little extra brown sugar and pineapple juice to the sauce. Hope this helps!
Becky says
This was amazing. I had doubts about it tasting like General Tso’s. Next time I will add some heat but this is a new family favorite!
Christie Gagnon says
Scrumptious! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Alice | SkinnySpatula says
I haven’t had General Tso’s chicken in years. Pinning to try later.
Veena Azmanov says
Love the flavors infused to it. Lovely snack opion too. My family to love it.
Amy Chung says
This recipe was so delicious and the family loved it! Thank you! And I reckon it’s “soh”. Definitely not “toes”! LOL
Ellen says
My favorite take out dish. I’m so excited to have a recipe to make at home and save money!
Katherine says
I loved this so much! The flavor of the sauce is delicious and the crust on the chicken was the perfect consistency! I did make a couple of changes, though! First, I marinated the chicken for about an hour and a half before trying. I also added a little bit of white pepper and salt to the flour for extra flavor. I swapped the cayane pepper for crushed red pepper. Lastly, I added bamboo shoots in with the chicken at the end. Overall fantastic, this is going in my recipe box!