Gen. Tso Chicken ala Akron's Chef, James Lee
General Tso's Chicken Ala Akron's James Lee
General Tso's chicken is one of the most popular Chinese
restaurant dishes in the Akron area.
General Tso's Chicken at Lee's restaurant, China Gourmet, in West Akron.
The
spicy-sweet stir-fry is the most popular dish on the restaurant's menu.
Lee's wife, Lily, estimates the restaurant sells 30 to 40 orders each
day.
People like it,'' Lee says. ``It's a little sweet, a little spicy and
a little sour.''
Experts aren't sure whether General Tso's chicken is a true Chinese
dish, although Lee says it was on many restaurant menus in Taiwan when he was a young man studying to be a chef.
The stir-fry consists of large chunks of crisp, batter-coated chicken in
A sweet, mahogany glaze enlivened with a splash of vinegar and a touch of heat. The contrast in flavors is stunning.
Everybody uses a different recipe, a different cooking style,'' Lee
says.
True. We've come across recipes that call for everything from hoisin
Sauce to sesame paste. Some call for adding green onions and others, bok choy. (My first General Tso chicken was with a restaurant in Ohio, they served it with dried chili pods and broccoli….Marsha)
Some use Chinese chili paste, while others turn up the heat with dried
Chili pods.
But it is Lee's recipe we want. In the kitchen, Lee begins to gently mash the batter-fried chicken chunks with the back of a ladle
enough to crack the crust but not shatter it. Lee returns the chicken to
the hot oil, which seeps into the cracks, cooks the chicken all the way
through and makes the coating exceptionally crisp.
Aha. That's the secret. Mashing.
The dish typically is made with the dark meat of chicken -- the thigh
And the leg -- which Lee debones himself. Home cooks can buy boneless chicken thighs at almost any supermarket. Simply remove the skin, pare away any remaining fat and cut each thigh into two or three pieces. Those worried about the fat content of dark meat may substitute boneless, skinless chicken breast, which Lee does on request at the restaurant.
Learning how to make the wispy batter and how to deep-fry will open up a world of Chinese cooking to novices. Other dishes made with the same techniques include sweet and sour chicken and spicy Szechuan Orange beef.
Those who prefer not to deep-fry the chicken may cut the chicken into
bite-size chunks, omit the coating and simply stir-fry the chicken
before adding the sauce. The resulting dish won't be General Tso's Chicken, but it still will be good.
Equipment
To make this stir-fry you will need:
A large frying pan. Use a flat-bottom skillet, not a wok. With its
Sloping sides, a wok does not get hot enough on a regular stove to cook the ingredients rapidly. The stoves in Chinese restaurants have large, open flames that heat the woks in a flash. At home, the best alternative is a flat-bottomed pan over high heat.
A deep-fryer or a heavy, 4-quart saucepan.
A sharp knife. Lee uses a cleaver for chopping both meat and vegetables.
Westerners may find it easier to use a triangular-bladed chef's knife.
A long-handled strainer or a slotted spoon. Chinese groceries and some cookware stores sell long-handled Chinese strainers that can scoop most of the chicken from the hot oil in one load.
Special ingredients
Oyster sauce. This mild brown sauce is sold in 7-ounce bottles in some supermarkets and in Chinese grocery stores. Once opened, it can be stored in the refrigerator for months.
Hot Chinese chili peppers. Sometimes called Szechuan chili peppers, the dried pods are dark red, about 2 inches long, and very hot. Use them to flavor the stir-fry, but do not eat them. They are available at Chinese grocery stores.
Rice vinegar and rice wine. Regular white vinegar and dry white wine may be substituted.
Lee's special techniques
When deep-frying, place batter-coated meat in oil before the oil is
Bubbling hot. This prevents the pieces of meat from sticking together, enabling you to fry more pieces at once. Lee starts with cold oil, which he heats very rapidly on his commercial, Chinese-style stove. The oil will not heat as rapidly on a regular stove, so we suggest you start with lukewarm oil and immediately raise the heat to high.
When the deep-fried chicken pieces are almost done, drain and gently
Crush them with the back of a strainer or a large spoon. The object is to crack the coating without shattering it. Then return the chicken to the hot oil until golden brown. Cracking the coating helps the chicken cook all the way through and produces an extra-crisp coating.
GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN
Sauce (instructions follow)
1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp. rice wine or dry white wine
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 tbsp. water
1 to 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
Oil for deep-frying
2 to 4 dried, hot Chinese chili pods
1 1/4 tsp. garlic
1/4 cup diced green onions
Make sauce and set aside. Combine cornstarch and water, stirring well;
set
aside.
Place meat on a cutting board. Cut each thigh in half with a sharp
knife.
Place meat in a medium-size bowl.
Sprinkle rice wine over the meat. Season with white pepper. Break an egg
over the meat and mix well with clean hands. Sprinkle half of the
cornstarch
over the meat and mix well with your hands. Add remaining cornstarch and
mix
well. Mix in water. Mix in enough vegetable oil to make the meat
slippery
enough to separate into individual pieces.
Pour oil into a deep fryer or a heavy, 4-quart saucepan. The oil should
be
at least 4 inches deep. Heat to lukewarm. Add all of the chicken pieces.
Immediately turn the heat to high. With a wooden chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon, stir the chicken occasionally to keep them from sticking together.
When the oil becomes bubbly-hot, cook the chicken until the coating is crisp, but hasn't yet begun to brown. Remove chicken with a long-handled strainer or a slotted spoon. Place on a plate. With the back of the strainer or the spoon, gently mash the chicken pieces to break the coating but not shatter it. Return chicken to hot oil and cook until the coating is golden. Remove from oil and drain.
Measure out 2 tablespoons of the deep-fry oil and place in a large
Skillet over high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the chili pods. With a spatula or a large spoon, stir and press the chili pods into the oil for 30 seconds, to flavor the oil. Add garlic and green onions and stir-fry 15 seconds longer. Add the sauce and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir the cornstarch-water mixture and add to the pan. Boil and stir until the sauce has thickened to a glossy syrup. Add chicken and stir-fry rapidly to coat with sauce.
Serve immediately with hot, steamed rice.
Makes 2 to 3 servings.
GENERAL TSO'S SAUCE
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. oyster sauce
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar or white distilled vinegar
2 tbsp. rice wine or dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
Combine all ingredients and mix well. May be made in advance and
refrigerated for up to one week.
Published Wednesday, January 24, 2001, in the Akron Beacon Journal
