Lighter General Tso’s Chicken

The usual General Tso's Chicken is coated in the egg white/cornstarch mixture and deep fried till golden brown. This is a healthified version which is pan fried in a drizzle of oil until crisp and tender, making it not only quick enough to eat on a weeknight, but healthy enough to eat as often as you like.

With it’s sweet and slightly spicy sauce, this one has definitely become our favourite stir-frys. I double the sauce as hubby likes extra to drizzle over his white rice.

Recipe: Lighter General Tso’s Chicken
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 350g snow peas, trimmed and halved diagonally
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar (i use 2.5 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (i use 1 tsp)

Chicken and Coating
• 2 large egg whites
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 455g boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

Method:
1) For sauce: In a big bowl, mix together water and cornstarch until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients and lastly the peas. Set aside.

2) For chicken: In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces, and toss to coat.

3) Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1tbsp of oil, once shimmering, add half of chicken to pan, dripping off excess coating. Cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil. Add more oil if necessary and repeat with remaining chicken. Set the chicken aside.

4) Reduce the heat under the pan then add the snow pea mixture to the now empty skillet. Cover the pan and cook until the peas are tender and the sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken (and any juices on the plate) to skillet. Toss to coat with the sauce and, if necessary, finish cooking the chicken through.

5) Serve the chicken on a bed of rice, or with rice.

Tips: use gluten-free soy sauce for cooking if you cannot handle wheat.

Recipe inspired by: Martha Stewart - Lighter General Tso's Chicken

If you are cooking this dish alone, the recipe is just nice to serve two. However if there are other dishes, you can serve four for the same amount.