General Tso Chicken

Описание: In this episode of Culinary Secrets Chef Tomm takes us to China and reveals some secret recipes in a way never seen before. Chef Tomm will reveal one of the three " Chinese Mother Sauce " recipes.

This is an authentic recipe taken from a famous Chinese restaurant in Fremont California. I feel very fortunate to have been able to go into this restaurant for several weeks to observe and try a few things out. After developing these recipes I had the Chef come down and cooked the food for her to ensure that I got it right. There are three major parts to the recipe. Tenderizing the meat, Making the sauce, making the finished dish. I always wondered how they made the meat so tender, after watching the tenderizing process I fully understood. They also add a small amount of baking soda which breaks down the connective tissues. The “ Mother Sauce “ Yu shong was simple to make and very tasty. When I first went to the restaurant I had no idea that they used “mother sauces “ They have three of these white, brown and yu shong. With these sauces you can pretty make up to 75% of all dishes made in a Chinese restaurant.

Tenderizing Process Chicken

Small batch chicken light meat
1# Sliced chicken breast
¼ tsp Salt
1/8 tsp White pepper
½ tsp Baking soda
Place meat in bowl. Add all ingredients and mix until incorporated. Pick the meat up and slam into bowl 10-15 times, don’t worry you won’t break it.

1 Egg white
Add in egg and mix until fully incorporated. Again pick the meat up and slam into bowl 10-15 times.

1 Tbs Water
1/2C Corn starch
Add in slurry and mix until fully incorporated. Pick the meat up and slam into bowl 10-15 times.

1 Tbs oil
Add in Oil and mix until fully incorporated.
Store mixture overnight, you can also hold this for immediate use.


Yu Shong sauce

1C Kikkoman soy sauce
1/8C Pearl River dark soy sauce
1 1/4C Sugar
¾C Rice Vinegar
3Tbs Black vinegar
¼ C Rice wine
1/8 C finely chopped ginger
1/8 C finely chopped garlic
½ tsp White pepper
½ tsp Ground toasted Szechuan peppercorns

Method:
Mix all ingredients together. Let sit overnight.

Legend
Tbs=Tablespoon tsp=teaspoon
C=Cup oz= ounces


Watching this get put together was really interesting. In a normal restaurant the Chef will call out the order to be made but in this restaurant the expediter took all of the ingredients and put it on a plate and gave it to one of the three line cooks. The cook would then make the dish very quickly. Another really interesting thing I saw here was that they partially cooked their slurry. It was thick enough to keep it from separating and also did a great job thickening.

General Tso’s Chicken

8 oz Tenderized chicken

1 Tbs Oil
2 dry, fried chilies
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp finely chopped garlic

6 oz Yu shong sauce

4 oz Blanched broccoli (do not add salt to blanching water)

Slurry as needed ( cornstarch and water )

Method:
Place chicken in the deep fryer at 300F and cook until golden brown. Make sure you move the chicken around or it will stick to the fryer. Remove from oil and place in a bowl with absorbent paper. Put aside. Put one T of oil in the wok and add in chilis, garlic and ginger and cook until very aromatic. Be careful not to burn! Add in sauce, stir until garlic and ginger is fully incorporated. Thicken with the slurry. Add in meat and stir until the sauce coats the meat. Add the broccoli and stir until the broccoli is fully covered by the sauce. Serve with pork fried rice.

Legend
Tbs=Tablespoon tsp=teaspoon
C=Cup oz= ounces