General Tso's chicken, rev 2

Gluten free! (If you use the right ingredients.) This is my attempt to emulate the style of certain restaurants in the NY/PA/NJ area. It is bold with lots of umami, sweetness, and spice. Ingredients aren't all super traditional — it's what I keep in my kitchen.

Not deep fried! I fucking hate deep frying.

Yields about 6 smaller servings, or 4 generous ones.

Start some unsalted rice with minimal water; I use 1:1 in a sealed vessel but you may need slightly more water in a pot with a loose lid.

Prepare aromatic ingredients in a bowl:

4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp. fresh ginger, minced (don't be tempted to use too much, can overpower)
10 scallions, cut into 3-5 cm batons (save dark green parts for garnish)
6 to 8 dried Árbol chilies

Prepare chicken:

24 oz (about six) chicken thigh, cut into bite-size chunks

Prepare sauce:

4 Tbsp. light ("normal") soy sauce, use gluten free to maintain GF
2 tsp. dark soy sauce, for GF sub I like coconut aminos
6 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. molasses
2⅔ Tbsp. rice vinegar, seasoned or unseasoned
1 Tbsp. chinkiang vinegar, GF can be found but balsamic vinegar is an ok sub
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 tsp. sichuan peppercorns, whole, toasted and then ground
½ tsp. white pepper
½ tsp. MSG
Generous dash fish sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil

Put a couple tablespoons of high temp oil in a frying pan and fry the chili peppers until fully blackened.

You will tear gas your entire house if you do this indoors. Do it outside or with very good ventilation. Really try to get this done though — the blackened peppers are a significant component of the flavor.

Toss in the rest of the aromatics and cook until fragrant. Add the chicken and fry until cooked on the outside.

Add the sauce, and simmer on low heat until the chicken is tender (10–15 minutes).

Mix into a slurry:

1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. water

Add this slurry to the sauce while stirring, and continue to stir gently until the slurry goes clear and the sauce thickens. Add the chicken and cook until heated through.

Serve over the rice. A spoon or two of Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp goes well on top.

Last modified: Wed Feb 1 21:18:28 MST 2023. Converted from recipes/gen_tsos_2.md.
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