General Tso's Chicken

During the holidays I ate all of this rich food.  Then, after the holidays, it was "How on earth can I use up all of these leftovers?"  After that it was a period of just going on a cooking strike!  However, man can NOT live on fast food alone, so it's time to get back in the kitchen and cook for my family.  That being said, I'm not ready to start eating heavy meals yet, nor am I ready to spend hours in the kitchen.  So I'm falling back on some of my quick, 30 minute meal, go-to's.  One of my favorites is my General Tso's Chicken.  Using just a few ingredients from your pantry, you can have this American take-out favorite, on your table, in a matter of minutes.

Let's get started!


General Tso's Chicken:
*Prep Time: 10 min.  *Cook Time:  20 min.  *Difficulty:  Easy  *Servings:  4-6

Ingredients:

For Chicken:

• 2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cubed
• 2 tbsp. Cornstarch
• Salt and Pepper

For Sauce:

• 1 tbsp. Cornstarch
• 1/2 c. Water
• 2 tbsp. Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 3 tbsp. Honey
• 1 tbsp. Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp.  Fresh Ginger, grated
• Red Chili Flake, to taste

To Finish:

• 1 12 oz. Bag of Broccoli Florets, frozen.
• Sesame Seeds
• Green Onions, sliced on bias

To begin you will need to place a deep skillet over a medium/high heat.

Add a little vegetable oil to the skillet and allow it to get SMOKING hot.
Like, the pan will literally smoke.

While you are waiting for the pan to get hot, take this time to trim and cube the chicken.

Place the chicken in a mixing bowl and add some salt...

Pepper...

And cornstarch.

Toss the chicken until every piece is coated with the cornstarch.

Shake the excess off of each piece of chicken and add them to the hot skillet.
Cook until the meat is cooked through, and the chicken is browned.

While the chicken is cooking, you can make the sauce.
In a large mixing bowl, add the cornstarch...

Water...

Fresh ginger...

Garlic...

Honey...
(This is West Virginia Honey!  Some of the best in the nation.  Look at the beautiful amber color.)

Soy sauce...

And a pinch of red chili flake.
We like heat, but not burn in my house, so a pinch is fine here.
If you want more heat...add more.  If you don't want ANY heat, leave it out.  :)

Mixing everything together.

By this time you chicken should be done and look like this.

To the cooked chicken, add the frozen broccoli.
Of course you can use fresh if you want, but you will need to blanch it first.

Cover the skillet and let the broccoli steam and heat through.

Once the broccoli is steamed and heated through, you can add the sauce.

Let the sauce cook until it begins to thicken.
Then remove from heat and toss to make sure everything is coated.
YUM!!

I like to serve my General Tso's Chicken over some white rice and top it with a little green onion and sesame seeds!  To make this even easier you can always pick up some steamed rice and chop sticks from the take-out place on your way home from work! You'll be laughing and talking and having a great time around the table with your family or friends and that's what dinner should be like.  Or, pour yourself a nice glass of wine, grab your chopsticks, fire up the Netflix, and make it a great night in!  Either way this is the PERFECT weeknight meal so get in the kitchen and whip it up TONIGHT!

And as always...

Happy Reading, Happy Eating, and Happy Living,
~The Kitchen Wife~