General Tsos Chicken

Name: General Tsos Chicken
Prep time: 13 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 37 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 1/2 Chicken Breast; 3/4 cup Plain Flour; 1 Egg; 2 tbs Starch; 1 tbs Baking Powder; 1 tsp Salt; 1/2 tsp Onion Salt; 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder; 3/4 cup Water; 1/2 cup Chicken Stock; 1/4 cup Duck Sauce; 3 tbs Soy Sauce; 2 tbs Honey; 1 tbs Rice Vinegar; 2 tbs Sesame Seed Oil; 1/2 tbs Gochujang; 2 tbs Starch; 1 clove Garlic; 2 chopped Spring Onions; 1 tsp Ginger

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Chicken recipe with Chinese flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 63 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 37 min total

1 1/2 Chicken Breast
3/4 cup Plain Flour
1 Egg
2 tbs Starch
1 tbs Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Onion Salt
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
3/4 cup Water
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1/4 cup Duck Sauce
3 tbs Soy Sauce
2 tbs Honey
1 tbs Rice Vinegar
2 tbs Sesame Seed Oil
1/2 tbs Gochujang
2 tbs Starch
1 clove Garlic
2 chopped Spring Onions
1 tsp Ginger

Step-by-step instructions

DIRECTIONS: STEP 1 - SAUCE In a bowl, add 2 Cups of water, 2 Tablespoon soy sauce, 2 Tablespoon white vinegar, sherry cooking wine, 1/4 Teaspoon white pepper, minced ginger, minced garlic, hot pepper, ketchup, hoisin sauce, and sugar.
Mix together well and set aside.
MARINATING THE CHICKEN In a bowl, add the chicken, 1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch of white pepper, 2 egg whites, and 3 Tablespoon of corn starch STEP 3 - DEEP FRY THE CHICKEN Deep fry the chicken at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes or until it is golden brown and loosen up the chicken so that they don't stick together.
Set the chicken aside.
STIR FRY Add the sauce to the wok and then the broccoli and wait until it is boiling.
To thicken the sauce, whisk together 2 Tablespoon of cornstarch and 4 Tablespoon of water in a bowl and slowly add to your stir-fry until it's the right thickness.
Next add in the chicken and stir-fry for a minute and serve on a plate.

Why this works on a weeknight

General Tsos Chicken lands at about 37 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Stir-Fry collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. General Tsos Chicken actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥢 Stir-Fry Chicken Chinese