Reviewed: Dec. 28, 2008

This is a great recipe! My family and friends have tried many versions and this recipe is by far one of the best. I did as some others did and omitted the MSG. I also decreased the cornstarch and increased the amount of sauce by 1 1/2 times. I used red pepper flakes and minced onion and it turned out just fine. I too did not bread or fry my chicken but lightly stir fried it in a tiny bit of olive oil with the red pepper and onion then added the sauce. It was much easier and faster!! Overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone. Easy, tasty and fast.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

vatech90

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Fishersville, Virginia, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 20, 2008

Wow! This was delicious! I did cut the cornstarch down to 1/4c. like other suggested. Good move. It would have been like jello otherwise! I also went with 1 tsp. of crushed red pepper. It was perfect for us, but I might use a little less next time if I'm giving this dinner away, 1 tsp was a bit too spicy for the non-spice loving crowd. Reviewers who suggested 3tsp must really like HOT food!!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

laurabora

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Farmingville, New York, USA

Living In: Geneseo, New York, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 20, 2008

Wow! My first time trying this recipe and it turned out awesome. I feed a large crew so I used 4 1/2 lbs. of chicken and I didn't have the dried peppers so I used 2 tbs. of red pepper flakes. I was 1/2 cup shy on the green onion but made it up with shredded carrot. Everyone raved about it. It was so tongue-tingling good that my teenage son's friend asked me for the recipe.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Evie of the corn

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Hammond, Indiana, USA

Living In: Grand Ridge, Illinois, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 11, 2008

really good as is even better with less corn starch. first time i made it as is. second time i reduced corn starch as many others have. i also replace white wine vinegar with red wine vintager on a hunch one of my favorite local restaurants used it. it's almost the best in town mybe 1 or 2 more small changes will get me there.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

iggk

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Living In: Nashua, New Hampshire, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 11, 2008

This turned out awesome. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is that there were some modifications as mentioned from others. I halved the cornstarch in the sauce. I also didn't have fresh ginger root so I used 1/8th of a tsp of ground ginger. I also did have the pepper so used red pepper flakes. I also added green, red and yellow bell peppers and carrot for color and additional flavor. I can't imagine this without the veggies, they made it look and taste much better. I don't have a deep frier and creating one out of one of my pots has never ended good for me so I pan fried the chicken (a much healthier option anyway). It was a lot of work but worth it in the end. I can't wait to eat leftovers.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

riddah

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Denver, Colorado, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 6, 2008

Good. This takes a while to make, but very good.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

autzak01

Home Town: Phoenix, Arizona, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 2, 2008

Yummy! But the sauce jelled very quickly and I would've liked it to be more liquidy.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Sarah

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 2, 2008

I gave this recipe a 4-star because I made several changes to make it healthier, but the flavor is excellent. What I did was make a sauce to pour into the stir-fry or chicken recipe. In a saucepan I mix together the water, garlic, ginger, sugar (I use sugar substitute), white wine vinegar, chicken broth, 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce, crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I use about 2t, but add more for more heat), and orange zest from one orange. I then add cornstarch and boil until desired consistency (I use about 4t-6t). I use this sauce for fried rice, meatballs, ect. My husband loves this and requests it a couple times a week!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

CHANELL5

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Nov. 11, 2008

I really liked the way this chicken was breaded... great flavor. I took the advice of other reviewers and didn't add all the corn starch... went with half and I can't imagine how thick this would have been with the whole thing. Also breaded with flour instead of corn starch. After starting the sauce and tasting, it was missing something. Added sherry and wok oil... but I can't figure out what it is... possibly orange flavor. This turned out really close to my husband's favorite take out, but we both tried unsuccessfully to make it taste "right." Texture of the sauce with half the corn starch was dead on tho. Make sure you watch it while you cook it because it thickens very quickly. I did cook sauce for a while before adding chicken to keep a little crunch to the breading when serving. Overall very tasty, but not quite what we are used to. Will make again and try to figure out what we need to add to "fix" this.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

rosyshell

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 31, 2008

I read the reviews and made the following changes- For the sauce: Reduced cornstarch to 2 T. Used brown sugar instead of granulated. Eliminated the white wine vinegar. Eliminated the msg. For the chicken: Eliminated the soy sauce. Used white pepper & flour for coating. Eliminated the cornstarch. Used pepper flakes instead of chilies. Dipped the chicken pieces in flour mixture; fried, drained, set aside. Drained oil; poured sauce in pan; thickened; stirred in chicken pieces. With modifications, this recipe is a family favorite served over brown rice!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

friedalovesbread

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 31, 2008

good recipe. i agree with other reviewers, this came very close to the real thing. Next time I will half the vinegar. Replace with 1/8 c of water.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Kshi86

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 29, 2008

I don't normally make Asian food, but I love getting this dish when I go out and it was just as delicious from this recipe. I made it for a crowd and everyone was pleased. I, too, doubled the sauce and used red pepper flakes instead of the chile peppers. I cut out the MSG and added more cornstarch as other reviews suggested. Perfect!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Entertainer

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Boise, Idaho, USA

Living In: Fort Lewis, Washington, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 28, 2008

This is super delicious! Everyone loved it! The only think we didnt add was the MSG but it was really good and definitely a recipe to keep.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Buluquita

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Panama, Panama Province, Panama

Living In: San Pedro Sula, Cortés, Honduras

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 17, 2008

This is the only General Tsao recipe that I have tried, but it is very delicious and extremely close to what I have had in Chinese restaurants. I did adapt the recipe and actually made General Tsao's Pork, but it was still great. As others have said, you must cut back on the corn starch!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

MR. YUM YUM

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Wabash, Indiana, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 9, 2008

almost like the real thing...a lot of work...

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

brierlynn

Cooking Level: Beginning

Living In: Ballston Spa, New York, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 30, 2008

I've been told there's 2 kinds of General Tsao's, apparently this is not the one I'm familiar with. I did not enjoy it at all. I tried to follow the recipe, but it was much too spicy for my liking (my DH enjoyed it) but the sauce tasted off and unpleasant. I'm glad others are enjoying it more, perhaps a recipe better to my liking will be posted later. Thanks!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katy

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Madison, Wisconsin, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 28, 2008

Very good, but a lot of work! Definitely need to double the sauce, but halve the cornstarch -- way too sticky. Good with brown rice & broccoli. Used previous reviewers advice to marinate in Texas Pete & soy sauce, and used 1 1/2 T crushed red pepper in place of the peppers; also, sauteed the chicken instead of deep-frying. With TX Pete & crushed pepper this dish was WAY too spicy for our 17 mo old - but my husband & I will probably be fighting over the leftovers tomorrow... Bottom line: Good, spicy, and well worth the extra work.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Tara N.

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 28, 2008

OK, but nothing like any General Tsao's chicken we've ever had anywhere else. Very bland in comparison. It's my son's favorite dish, and the leftovers went bad after languishing in the fridge for over a week. Since he's a big eater and loves to scarf up just about any leftovers, this said a lot. He sheepishly told me to just pitch it, that he wasn't interested in eating it. This was definitely not worth the mess to go through the deep fat frying. Considering the cost of the ingredients (especially the large amount of oil) it was a big disappointment. Sorry to say my advice on this one is to head to your nearest Chinese take-out and save yourself the time and mess of cleanup.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Baricat

Cooking Level: Professional

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 23, 2008

do not use alot of corn starch. could use frozen breaded chicken tenders cut into pieces, to save time. "special" breading sauce doesn't taste "special".

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Mrs. Penton

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Mobile, Alabama, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 19, 2008

I don't like tsao in general but my husband loves this.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

love2cook

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

General Tsao's Chicken

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

Reviewer:

My Recipe Box (0)

Something worth saving?

Most Popular Blogs

Recently Viewed Recipes

Top Searches

Email or User Name	Password (forgot?)

Remember me? Join for FREE!