Mum's Crumbs: General Tso's Chicken

So I know I overthink everything. And I do mean everything. I over analyse every little nitty gritty thing that I say or read to my toddler, every toy I buy him and every behaviour I want to instil in him. I do this so much that I end up feeling like the most terrible parent in the world, despite the fact that I try to maximise every minute he spends awake so that he is always learning or having fun or DOING something, anything. I don't want to leave a single moment in the day unfulfilled. So during one of my bouts of super-analysis, I realised I would like to start building on his favourite foods list. I was never a food loving kid, yet I distinctly remember the smell of chicken pie fresh from the oven in all it's puff pastry and bechamel-ish glory. I crave the familiar waft arising from my mum's beef and potato curry with rice and yoghurt salad. All this rambling is making me hungry. So I will end this here on a devilish note saying, I want to create those memories for my son. So that one day his wife's cooking has trouble living up to the taste of mum's homemade such-and-such ;) Haha!

This is where I am starting. 

General Tso's Chicken:

(Adapted from: Appetite for China) 

Serves 4 hearty appetites as a main entrée

What You'll Need:

2 boneless chicken breasts cubed into 1-inch squares

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I've found this to be the best non-alcoholic alternative to rice wine / sherry)

2 cups cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Vegetable oil for deep frying

1 teaspoon dried crushed red chilli flakes (or less if your kids are fussy spice-shunners) 

4 cloves garlic, crushed

White sesame seeds for garnish

Chopped spring onions for garnish (the greens from about 4-5 stalks)

Marinade:

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

4 egg whites

Sauce:

3/4 cup chicken stock

5 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 teaspoons hoisin sauce (I just use packaged stir-fry hoisin sauce off the shelf of a regular grocery store)

3 teaspoons chilli paste (or to taste)

3-4 teaspoons sesame oil (I swear by this stuff - do not skip!)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

What You'll Do:

1. In a large bowl, combine the ingredients for the marinade, beating furiously with a whisk or fork for a minute. Add the cubed chicken to the marinade and let it sit for 15 - 30 mins (depending on how impatient you are)
2. In another bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce. My tip: I like to prepare the chicken stock in a mug and add the cornstarch directly to it while it's steaming hot to dissolve it. I then I add this to the rest of the sauce ingredients. Whatever way you do it, make sure the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
3. In a wok or other deep pan, pour the oil for deep frying and put it on the stove on a medium-low setting to heat up while you prepare the chicken.
4. In a tray or large baking tin, combine the 2 cups of cornstarch with the salt and pepper. Get your hands dirty and place the chicken in the cornstarch mix, a handful at a time. Coat each piece with the mixture, shake off excess and like up on one side of the tray. I prefer to use a tray rather than a bowl (like in the original recipe) because that always leaves me with sticky, soggy, unimpressively coated chicken.
5. Line another tray with paper towels.
6. After a few handfuls of chicken have been cornstarched, your oil will have heated up nicely. Pop the prepared chicken into the oil and deep fry, tossing often for about 4-5 mins until nice and goldeny-browny on the outside. While these are frying, prepare another batch. Remove the cooked chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels. You should be done in about 3-4 batches. If your kids are as impatient as mine is (and whose kids aren't), you can offer them some of the warm chicken 'nuggets' you've just prepared. They're a hit in my house even without the sauce!
7. Drain out the oil in another container, leaving a mere tablespoon in the wok, as you won't be needing the rest. Add the garlic and red chilli flakes to the oil and smush around for only about 30 seconds until it starts dancing around.
8. Pour the prepared sauce mixture and mix nicely for just a minute. Without letting it get too thick (and you can add a couple of tablespoons of water if you think it has), add the chicken to the sauce and stir until everything is coated and suitably sticky.
9. I like my food a little saucy, so I take the wok off the heat about a minute after the chicken's gone in.
10. Pour into a glass serving dish and top with a general splatter of sesame seeds and spring onions. Serve with boiled rice, sticky or plain!

As my son would say at this point, 'Tadaaaa!'. There you have it. General Tso's chicken. So worth the deep frying trouble.