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YouTube Babish Makes General Tso's

General Tso’s Chicken (Babish-style “Ultimate Version”)

A Chinese-American fried chicken dish featuring crispy battered chicken pieces tossed in a glossy sweet, tangy, and spicy soy-based sauce with garlic, ginger, and chilies. A classic takeout favorite known for its bold flavor and crunchy texture.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese-American
Ingredients Method Video

Ingredients
  

Chicken + marinade
  • 2-2.5 lbs Chicken thighs cut into 1.5–2 inch chunks
  • 2 Egg whites
  • 3 tbsp Dark soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine or dry sherry
  • 3 tbsp Sake or vodka, or skip / replace with water
  • 3 tbsp Cornstarch
  • ¼ tsp Baking soda
Breading
  • 1 cup All-purpose flour
  • 1 cup Cornstarch
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Optional: wheat dextrin or fiber additive like in video, not required
Sauce
  • 4 cloves Garlic minced
  • 2-3 inches Ginger grated
  • 3 tbsp Rice wine vinegar
  • 4 tbsp Dark soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 4 tbsp Chicken stock
  • 3 tbsp Honey or ~¼ cup sugar equivalent
  • 1 tbsp Sugar adjust to taste
  • 1 tsp Sesame oil
  • 1 tsp Oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp Hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp Cornstarch for thickening
  • Dried chilies arbol or Chinese chilies, to taste
  • Scallions whites + greens
  • Orange peel optional but recommended

Method
 

Marinate chicken
  1. Whisk egg whites, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, vodka until frothy.
  2. Split mixture: Half stays plain, Half gets cornstarch + baking soda (this becomes marinade)
  3. Coat chicken in marinade.
  4. Rest ~30 minutes (don’t go much longer).
Prepare breading
  1. Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt.
  2. Re-whisk reserved liquid marinade to create clumps.
  3. Toss chicken in breading until craggy and uneven (key texture).
Fry chicken
  1. Heat oil to ~375°F (190°C)
  2. Fry in batches until golden and crisp
  3. Drain on rack + paper towels
  4. Keep warm in low oven (200°F / 95°C)
Make sauce
  1. Pre-mix: soy sauce, vinegar, wine, stock, honey, sugars, sesame oil, hoisin, oyster sauce, cornstarch
  2. In wok/pan: sauté garlic, ginger, chilies in a little fry oil, add scallion whites + orange peel
  3. Add sauce mixture → it will thicken quickly
  4. Add scallion greens
Combine
  1. Toss fried chicken into sauce
  2. Coat quickly (don’t let it sit too long or it softens too much)
  3. Garnish with scallions + sesame seeds

Video