Healthier General Tso’s Chicken.

New favorite chicken dinner right here.

It’s sweet, it’s just a little spicy and it’s real saucy. Sauce just makes everything better.

Oh, this sauce. It is down right awesome! And this chicken is swimming in it.

This is what I like to see.

Ok, so here is the truth.

I have never had General Tso’s Chicken before. I can not remember the last time we ordered take-out. It was definitely before we moved to Colorado, which was almost six years ago. When we ordered take-out in Cleveland we would either get Buffalo Wild Wings (B-dubs or BW3’s as we used to call it), pizza (I remember a whole lot of Hungry Howies until my best friend in middle school turned us on to a place that had buffalo chicken pizza. That pizza was so greasy, but soo good!) and then there was this Chinese restaurant called Pearl of the Orient. All I remember eating was the steamed white rice or brown rice that came with whatever my parents got.

Maybe I ate other stuff too, but for some reason all I remember is the rice. Oh, and the fortune cookies, of course.

Until I started cooking, we never experimented with different food. It was pretty much just chicken, steak, pasta, rice, burgers and more chicken and steak.

Boring, boring, boring!

You can’t blame my parents though. They had too little money, too little time, too many hungry mouths and way too many picky eaters. At the time I think I was the only kid who would even touch a vegetable. Did I mention vegetables are my thing? I have always LOVED vegetables, raw or cooked I’d eat them. Pickles were my first sold food. Yeah, I know who the heck feeds a baby pickles? Apparently, my parents. No wait, It was actually my aunt Erin. I think she and my mom just needed something for me to gnaw on to shut me up – apparently it did the trick.

Anyway, this chicken is pretty much just the bomb. Way better than anything you could ever get out of those little cardboard containers. Plus, you know exactly what is in it. READ: No MSG or other scary ingredients that I cannot read for the life of me. I am really not into eating ingredients that I cannot even begin to sound out the names of.

Instead of frying the chicken I oven “fried” it. Which is maybe the easiest most genius way to fry chicken. Ah plus, it is a whole lot healthier! This is good since I hear people are talking about bikini season (not here of course).  Ok, and the sauce. The sauce is just awesome. And there is A LOT of it. I hate when chicken is not saucy enough. Sauce = good. Really good!

Trust me on this one guys. I have a feeling you will never want to go back to ordering take-out. When you do have to, you’ll be wishing you had made your own.

Healthier General Tso's

4.37 from 33 votes

6 Servings

by Tieghan Gerard

calories 428kcal

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Prep15 minutes mins

Cook20 minutes mins

Total35 minutes mins

It's sweet, it's just a little spicy and it's real saucy. Sauce just makes everything better.

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

Chicken

• ▢ 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• ▢ 2 cups panko bread crumbs (If you can find whole wheat, buy those)
• ▢ 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• ▢ 1 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small bite size pieces

Sauce

• ▢ 1 2/3 cups water
• ▢ 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 1/4 cup jam (I used raspberry, but recommend apricot or peach)
• ▢ 1/4 cup ketchup
• ▢ 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic, grated
• ▢ 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• ▢ 2 teaspoons chili paste, or you can use 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ▢ green onions, for garnish
• ▢ toasted sesame seed, for garnish
• ▢ white or brown rice, for serving

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack or if you do not have a wire rack line with parchment, tin foil or a Silpat. Spray with cooking spray or oil with olive oil.
• In three separate shallow bowls place the whole wheat flour, panko bread crumbs and buttermilk. Working in batches, dredge chicken in flour, dip in buttermilk, then coat with the panko bread crumbs, pressing them into the chicken. Lay on prepared baking sheet. Spray chicken with cooking spray. Bake until the chicken and coating is brown and crisp, about 15 minutes (10 if you cut your chicken really small).
• Meanwhile, whisk water, soy sauce, jam, ketchup, hoisin, corn-starch, and vinegar together in bowl. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet with sides over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic, ginger, and chili paste. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in soy sauce mixture, bring to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Return the chicken to the sauce and heat until just warmed through.
• Serve with rice, green onions, sesame seeds and steamed broccoli if desired.
• Slightly adapted from Pinch Of Yum.

Nutrition

Serving: 4g | Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1001mg | Potassium: 598mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 4.5mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2.1mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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I am in Love.

Shared with: Time to Sparkle, Lil Luna, Chef In Training, Buns In my Oven, Foodie Friday Friends, Tidy Mom, Taste and Tell, Cheerios and Lattes, Somewhat Simple, Mom on Timeout, I Heart Nap Time, Fine Craft Guide, The Country Cook, Whipperberry, Chef In Training, Thursday’s Treasures, A Pinch Of Joy, Whats Cooking With Ruthie, Watch Out Martha