Nothing says classic Chinese-American takeout like General Tso's Chicken! Who exactly is General Tso and why is his chicken do damn delicious? Well, legend has it that General Tso was actually a man named Zuo Zongtang who helped unify China and show military prowess by squashing numerous rebellions during the nineteenth century. 100 years later, a Chinese Nationalist chef created his so-named dish after being defeated by the Communists under Mao Zedong and fleeing to Taiwan. Supposedly, the chef and General Tso were both from the same hometown back in China so the name fit and the rest is history. Coincidence, true story, or pure legend, we all have come to love that sweet, spicy, sticky, and tangy sauce coating crispy fried chicken that satisfies our ever growing Chinese-American food cravings! Typically, fried chicken bites are the base protein for this dish, but today we are going rogue and using an Air Fryer to lighten things up and get the same crispy and crunchy results! Don't believe that is possible? Well, stick around as I show you how it's done and make a legit Air Fryer General Tso's Chicken....Let's Get Cooking!
Luckily for us, I have already written up an easy Air Fryer Japanese Karaage Chicken recipe that works perfect for this application. If you want a more detailed explanation of how to make the chicken for this recipe, click that link and give it a quick read. For the rest of you lazy bums, I will still provide a quick walk through of the process here, but realize the original post will be a greater value to making the perfect crispy and crunchy Air Fryer chicken. That being said, let's dive into the process and knock out the chicken part of this recipe first.
Begin by combining the egg whites, soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch, salt, and white pepper in a bowl and whisk until it becomes somewhat frothy. Prep your chicken thighs by cutting them into bite-sized pieces and adding them to the marinade bowl. Put the chicken in a ziplock bag and let it hang out in the fridge for a couple hours to soak up a bit of flavor.
After the chicken has been in the marinade for about an hour or so, drain the excess marinade and simply coat the chicken with cornstarch. You can pour it all in a bag and shake it like a polaroid picture till the chicken is evenly coated or dip the individual pieces in a shallow dish full of cornstarch. Make sure each piece of chicken is evenly coated with corn starch and get your Air Fryer preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spread the chicken out in your Air Fryer so that the pieces aren't really overlapping. The hot air itself needs to be able to circulate around and get to all sides of the chicken to create that crispy crust we are trying to achieve. You will probably have to do this step in a couple batches, but the chicken needs a resting period anyway so it works out in the end. Make sure to lightly spray the chicken with some cooking oil, avocado or canola or whatever you have on hand, and let it Air Fry for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, flip each piece over, give them another spray, and continue to cook the chicken an additional 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and repeat the process for any remaining batches.
Let the chicken rest at least 10 minutes before moving on to the final cooking step. If you did this in two batches, be sure to let the second batch cool too. After all your chicken has Air Fried for 10 minutes total and cooled at least 10 minutes, put it all back in the Air Fryer for a final 5 minute cook. Everything should be crispy already so you can do this final cook in one large batch. It is perfectly ok to pile it all back in the Air Fryer at this point for the final 5 minutes. This will ensure the chicken is cooked through internally so don't skip this step!
And just like that the chicken is done and ready for the sauce! Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large pan and add the garlic, ginger, and chili flakes. Let these ingredients bloom and start to give off some amazing aromas while beginning to soften.
While those first aromatics begin to heat up, whisk together some corn starch with rice wine in a separate bowl until combined and smooth. Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar, and sesame oil to create the base part of the sauce. One thing to note here is the use of low sodium stock and soy sauce. Since we will be reducing this liquid, those flavors will greatly intensify and make your sauce overly salty if you are not careful!
Add this slurry to the aromatics in the pan and continue to stir constantly as it heats up. Bring this mixture up to a boil before dropping the heat back down to a simmer. It should begin to thicken fairly quickly so don't walk away and ruin your sauce. Keep stirring until it has thickened and ready for that crispy chicken we previously made.
Once your sauce has thickened and begun to get sticky and tacky, remove the pan from the stove and add the chicken bites to the pan. Toss to coat everything evenly. It's really that simple at this point!
Let the chicken remain in the hot sauce a few minutes to warm it back through and just like that you have created a better than takeout Air Fryer version of General Tso's Chicken! Serve it up with some rice and enjoy the fruits of your labor. As long as you took the time to make the chicken properly, it will remain crunchy even after being doused in this thick sauce!
Give this Air Fryer General Tso's Chicken and try and let me know what you and your family thought! The sauce itself a base starting point most people will be happy with as is. Personally, I thought it could use a touch more heat, but nothing that a little Sriracha couldn't fix on the plate. Feel free to experiment and try your own twist on this Chinese-American takeout classic. As always, get in the kitchen and make something tasty....Just Keep Cooking!
AIR FRYER GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN
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