Mean Guys General Tsos Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• For the chicken: Place your broccoli florets in a medium bowl and add 2 tablespoons water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
• Heat the oil in a 4-quart (3.8-liter) Dutch oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) using a frying thermometer. Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Mix 1 1/2 cups (335 grams) of the tempura flour and 1 cup (240 milliliters) water into a thick batter. It should look like thick pancake batter. Dredge the chicken cubes in the 1 cup (223 grams) of tempura flour and then coat them in the batter. Fry them in two batches until golden brown and crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain the chicken on paper towels or a rack.
• Heat a wok or large skillet to high and add 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) of oil. When you see the first wisps of white smoke, stir in the fried chicken, onion, chiles, broccoli, and 1/3 of the ginger and garlic and cook them for about 30 seconds.
• For the sauce: While the chicken cooks, add the oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, sugar, white vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch slurry, red food coloring if using, 1/3 cup water and the remaining chopped ginger and garlic into a 1-quart (946-millileter) saucepan and bring the heat up to medium. Whisk gently as it comes to a simmer. Allow it to simmer and keep whisking it for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and reserve it.
• Stir in the sauce and allow it to coat the chicken and simmer. Cook it, folding all the ingredients until they are well coated, about 2 minutes. Garnish with the scallions.

Steps:

• Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken cubes; sprinkle with salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and white pepper; mix well. Mix in 1 cup of cornstarch a little bit at a time until the chicken cubes are well coated.
• In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until they turns golden brown and begin to float, about 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to cool as you fry the next batch. Once all of the chicken has been fried, refry the chicken, starting with the batch that was cooked first. Cook until the chicken turns deep golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the green onion, garlic, whole chiles, and orange zest. Cook and stir a minute or two until the garlic has turned golden and the chiles brighten. Add 1/2 cup sugar, the ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.
• Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into the water, and stir into the boiling sauce. Return to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy from the cornstarch, about 1 minute. Stir the chicken into the boiling sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes until the chicken absorbs some of the sauce.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, thoroughly blend the 1/2 cup of cornstarch and the eggs; add the chicken and toss to coat.
• If the mixture is too thick, add some vegetable oil to separate the pieces.
• In a small bowl, prepare the sauce mixture by combining the 2 tsp cornstarch with the wine, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce.
• First-Stage Frying: Heat 1-2 inches of peanut oil in a wok to medium-high heat (350-400).
• Fry the chicken in small batches, just long enough to cook the chicken through.
• Remove the chicken to absorbent paper and allow to stand (this step can be performed well in advance, along with the sauce mixture, with both refrigerated).
• Second-Stage Frying: Leave a tablespoon or two of the oil in the wok.
• Add the pepper pods to the oil and stir-fry briefly, awakening the aroma but not burning them.
• Return the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until the pieces are crispy brown.
• The General's Favorite Sauce: Add the sauce-mixture to the wok, tossing over the heat until the sauce caramelizes into a glaze (1-2 minutes).
• Serve immediately.
• Serves 4, along with steamed broccoli and rice.

Steps:

• For the sauce: Heat the sesame oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the chicken stock, soy sauce, orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, mirin, orange zest and pepper flakes. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cornstarch slurry and stir until the sauce is thickened. Keep warm.
• For the chicken: With a mallet or a heavy pan, pound the chicken to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Add the chicken to a large resealable bag along with the soy sauce and ginger-garlic paste. Seal the bag and leave the chicken to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Beat the eggs in a wide, shallow bowl. In a large plate mix together the flour, granulated garlic and ground ginger. In another plate, mix together the panko and sesame seeds. Sprinkle all three dishes with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken first in the flour, then in the egg and lastly in the panko.
• Slick a large skillet with peanut oil and set over medium-high heat. In batches, fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. As you go, keep cooked chicken warm in the oven on a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
• Slice the chicken into thick strips and arrange on a serving platter. Drizzle chicken with the sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.
• Pulse the garlic and ginger in a food processor. With the processor running, stream in the canola oil and process to a paste. (You'll need 4 tablespoons of the paste for the present recipe. Refrigerate remaining paste for up to a week.)