Make Your Own Take Out

We had Chinese tonight. It was so good. The pictures aren't so great because of the lighting, oh well.


GENERAL TSO'S

• 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks
• 2 cups green onions sliced
• 8 small dried chilies seeds removed (bird pepper or thai chilies are good)

Cornstarch slurry

• 1/4 cup soy sauce low sodium preferred
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 cup cornstarch

Sauce

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 14 1/2 ounces chicken broth (a can)

1. Place sauce ingredients in a quart jar with a lid and shake to mix. If you make this ahead of time just refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it. This also keeps your dirty dishes down.
2. Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange but trust me it works. It will be VERY thick almost paste like. Add chicken pieces to coat. Using a fork remove ONE chicken piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off. YES even though the mixture has a weird consistency it will not stick like paste and the excess will drip off. Add chicken to the hot (350 degree) oil and fry until crispy. Only cook 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time. You do not want to raise the temp of the oil by cooking too many at a time. You can use a simple cooking or candy thermometer to judge the temp of the oil.
3. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm- I just put them in the oven with the oven off. Repeating until all chicken is fried.
4. In a separate wok or large skillet add a small amount of oil and heat to 400 degrees. Again, a candy thermometer works great. You can fry all the chicken, drain the oil to the desired amount and use the same pan if you like.
5. Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.
6. Stir sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add a little water. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.
7. Add chicken to sauce in wok, and cook until all is hot and bubbly. The quicker this is done the crispier the chicken stays.
8. Serve over rice.

MANDARIN CHICKEN (Tastes just like Panda Express)

• 2/3 cup sugar
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tspn vegetable oil
• 1 tspn minced fresh garlic
• ½ tspn minced fresh ginger
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 6 skinless chicken thigh fillets

Preparation & Cooking Instructions :

1. Combine sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, oil, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan.
2. Combine water with cornstarch in a small bowl and stir until cornstarch is dissolved. Add to saucepan and turn heat to high. Stir often while bringing mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 4 to 6 minutes or until sauce is thick.
3. Preheat your grill on high for the chicken.
4. When the grill is hot, rub each chicken piece with oil and cook the chicken for 4 to 6 minutes per side or until done. Chicken should have browned in spots. When chicken is done, chop it into bite-size pieces.
5. Pour the chicken pieces into a large frying pan over medium heat. Heat until chicken sizzles then reduce heat and cover chicken until ready to serve.
6. Spoon chicken into a medium bowl, then pour all the sauce over the chicken and stir until well-coated. Serve with steamed white rice.

If anyone wants the recipe for the egg rolls just let me know!