{oven baked} General Tso’s Chicken

Happy Tuesday! Or Monday. Depending on what side of the world you live on. We’re starting our first week back at school after Fall break (even after almost two years here the opposite seasons still trip me out). She sure was good to us, that Fall break. We saw and did the most incredible things while road tripping around the North Island in an RV. We’re talking sandboarding down giant sand dunes, riding a boat through a pitch black cave with millions of glowworms illuminating the ceiling like a starry night, visiting Hobbiton and learning the behind the scenes secrets in Lord of the Rings, digging a hole on a geothermal active beach and sitting in our own personal hot tub while we listened to the waves crash and watched the sunset, exploring the Goblin Forest and so many other incredible experiences that we’ll treasure for a lifetime (just a reminder, you can follow along our New Zealand adventures here). It was pretty spectacular, but one thing I do miss when we travel is home cooked meals. There’s only so much cold cereal and turkey sandwiches one can handle. Of course it’s a small price I’m willing to pay, but it does make me appreciate the simplicity and delicious flavor of dishes like this General Tso’s  Chicken (which really is the whole point of this post after all).  It really is amazing. There are so many similar dishes when it comes to Chinese food,  I mean I can name at least a dozen chicken and rice dishes, each with a different sauce. Each of them delicious in their own way, but when it comes down to my favorites this is definitely one of them! I just love that Chinese take-out is so easy to recreate at home with the same (if not better) delicious results, but a lot healthier too. I mean, no matter how hard I try I just can’t find a good Papa John’s knock off, but Chinese food….now THAT I can do. Hope you enjoy this dish and your Spring/Fall break as well!

Preheat oven to 375. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In a large Ziploc bag, add corn starch, salt, garlic powder, and pepper then shake until mixed. Add diced chicken, seal bag and shake to evenly coat chicken. Use tongs to transfer chicken pieces to hot oil. Saute 2-3 minutes per side until lightly browned (chicken will still be raw in the middle).

Whisk sauce ingredients together in a bowl until mixed. Add chicken to a baking dish then pour sauce on top, gently stir until evenly coated. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes or so, until sauce is nice and bubbly. Serve over rice, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onion.

 

3 chicken breasts, diced
4 tablespoons oil
1 cup corn starch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon pepper
steamed rice for serving
optional toasted sesame seeds and green onion to garnish

Sauce:
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic (or garlic powder)
2 tablespoons water
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 375. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In a large Ziploc bag, add corn starch, salt, garlic powder, and pepper then shake until mixed. Add diced chicken, seal bag and shake to evenly coat chicken. Use tongs to transfer chicken pieces to hot oil. Saute 2-3 minutes per side until lightly browned (chicken will still be raw in the middle). Whisk sauce ingredients together in a bowl until mixed. Add chicken to a baking dish then pour sauce on top, gently stir until evenly coated. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes or so, until sauce is nice and bubbly. Serve over rice, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onion.

 

And as a quick side note, I just wanted to thank K over at Peeled Wellness for the feature on her Tell ’em Tuesdays link up party. It’s a great way to find delicious recipes and meet some great new food bloggers. You should join the party too!