General Tso's Chicken

Having to decide what to cook for dinner for 7/8 people can be difficult, yet the basis of any Chinese meal consists of Jasmine/white rice, vegetable dish and meat dishes. Jasmine rice - check Vegetables - check - Gai Lan and also Choy Sum Meat - I saw this glorious dish over at Lizzie's blog - Hollow Legs so i'm gonna make General Tso's Chicken. I'll also be making Char Siu one of my faves for sure. Here's the recipe for General Tso's Chicken

General Tso's Chicken

Serves 2

To marinade the meat:

3 or 4 chicken thighs with the skin on, deboned and chopped into pieces

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp cornflour

2 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

Mix this in a bowl and leave to sit whilst you prepare the other ingredients.

For the sauce:

1 tbsp tomato puree

4 tbsp water

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp cornflour.
- I decided to add a bit of Chinese Rice wine for an extra oomph

The rest:

6 - 10 dried chillis, snipped into 3cm pieces, discarding the seeds

2 tsp finely chopped ginger - or crushed

2 tsp finely chopped garlic - or crushed

1 spring onion, sliced for garnish

2 tsp sesame oil

Oil for deep frying

It looks like a long list of ingredients, but you just need to mix the sauce materials up for the last minute cooking.

Deep fry the chicken in 2 batches until the chicken is golden and crispy. Set to one side. Empty out the oil, reserving 2 tbsp. Fry the chillis briefly and then add the ginger and garlic. Fry until it's all fragrant, and then add all the sauce in, and then the chicken. When it is thickened, turn off the heat and serve, with the sesame oil and spring onion to garnish.