P.F. Chang's General Tso Chicken Recipe (2024)

Jump to Recipe

Make our P.F. Chang’s General Tso Chicken Recipe at home tonight for your family. With our Secret Restaurant Recipe your General Tso Chicken will taste just like P.F. Chang’s.

P.F. Chang's General Tso Chicken Recipe (1)

Photo by jensteele

General Tso Chicken – Everyone’s Favorite “American” Chinese Dish

If you ask for General Tso Chicken outside the major cities in China (where the influx of American tourists have made it necessary to include on most menues) the waiter will probably look at you like you are crazy.

Why? Because General Tso Chicken is not a traditional Chinese dish. It was invented in American Chinese restaurants for Americans. And not only is the dish almost completely unknown in China, but the General that the dish may or may not be named after is such a minor character in Chinese history that most Chinese have never heard of him.

Imagine if one of your guests, out of the blue, were to asked you to make some Hagood Chicken for them and you get some idea of the confusion your waiter is feeling. (Johnson Hagood was a Brigadier General in the South Carolina State Militia during the American Civil War – and as far as I know there is no chicken dish named after him. Yet. 😉 )

Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this page after you read (and make!)P.F. Chang’s General Tso Chicken Recipe. There are TWO MORE delicious General Tso Chicken Recipes for you to try.

P.F. Chang’s General Tso Chicken

P.F. Chang's General Tso Chicken Recipe

Make our P.F. Chang's General Tso Chicken Recipe at home tonight for your family. With our Secret Restaurant Recipe your General Tso Chicken will taste just like P.F. Chang's.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Active Time20 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Keyword: P.F. Chang's

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 1/2 cup Cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup Water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Garlic
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Ginger
  • 3/4 cup Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
  • 1/4 cup White Vinegar
  • 1/4 cup dry Sherry or White Wine
  • 1 can condensed Chicken Broth

Meat

  • 3 pounds boneless skinless Chicken, cut into chunks
  • 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
  • 8 small dried Red Chiles stems and seeds removed
  • 1 Egg beaten
  • 1 cup Cornstarch
  • 2 quarts Vegetable Oil for deep-frying plus 1 tablespoon for stir-frying
  • 2 cups sliced Scallions green onions
  • Fried Rice or Steamed Rice for serving

Instructions

Sauce

  • Put everything in a quart jar with a lid and shake it up, then put in the fridge. Just shake it up again when you are ready to use it.

Meat

  • In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, soy sauce, and hot peppers. Stir in the egg. Add the cornstarch and mix until all the chicken pieces are well coated. (It will look awful at this point.)

  • Heat the deep-frying oil to 350°F in a large pot. Cover a large platter with a few layers of paper towels.

  • Set aside the chiles. Deep-fry 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all the chicken chunks are fried.

  • Place 1 tablespoon oil in a wok and heat until very hot. Add the scallions and chiles and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Shake the sauce to recombine, then pour it into the wok. Cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add water until it’s the right consistency. Add the chicken to the sauce and cook until everything is hot and bubbly. Serve with fried or steamed rice.

Follow Us to Get ALL of Our Latest Recipes

.

Another “General Tso Chicken” Recipe for You to Try:

On Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes Pinterest Page Food Network Star, Sunny Anderson, makes a killer version of General Tso Chicken. She calls it Airman Anderson Chicken – and you can find a link to it on our Pinterest Page (Click the Link Below). Be sure to “Follow” us while your are there for even MORE Recipes.

Click HERE now for Food Network Star, Sunny Anderson’s Airman Anderson Chicken on The Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes Pinterest Page

And One More Homemade General Tso Chicken Video Recipe for You to Try:

P.F. Chang's General Tso Chicken Recipe (5)

Photo by avlxyz

Video Courtesy of Cooking With Kai

Just Follow Us on on Your Favorite Social Media Sites and Never Miss a New Recipe.

Stay in Touch, Get More Recipes from All of Our Sites and Help Us Spread the Word about Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes to All Your Friends.

Thank You.

Related Recipes:

Click on any Name below for the Recipe

  • P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Crispy Honey Chicken
  • P.F. Chang’s General Tso Chicken
  • P. F. Chang’s Dan Dan Noodles Recipe
  • P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Cantonese Stir Fry Sauce Recipe
  • P.F. Chang’s Lettuce Wraps with Chicken Recipe
  • Panda Express Chow Mein Recipe
  • Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoons Recipe
  • Panda Express Orange Chicken Recipe
  • Panda Express SweetFire Chicken Breast Recipe
  • … MORE Great Recipes Coming Soon!

Photo of P.F. Chang’s General Tso Chicken Home Recipe is by jensteele and is used by permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) License. Photo of General Tso Chicken is by avlxyz and is used by permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) License. Original Video can be found at How to make General Tso’ Chicken. Photos may be “representative” of the recipe and not the actual finished dish. All photo licenses listed were correct at the time of the posting of the page. Additional Information Courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.

Please use the Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Email Buttons below to SHARE our P.F. Chang’s General Tso Chicken Recipe with your Friends!

It only takes a minute and they will love you for it!

Thank You!

P.F. Chang's General Tso Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is PF Chang's version of General Tso's chicken? ›

Have you ever eaten at P.F. Chang's? They have “Chang's Spicy Chicken” on the menu, which is basically their version of general tso's. It has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy, and the sauce is light in color, which indicates it's not overloaded with soy sauce.

Is General Chang the same as General Tso? ›

The two claims may be somewhat reconciled in that the current General Tso's chicken recipe — where the meat is crispy fried — was introduced by Chef Wang under the name "General Ching's chicken", a name which still has trace appearances on menus on the Internet (the identity of its namesake "General Ching" is, however, ...

What is General Tso's sauce made of? ›

How to Make General Tso's Sauce: The sauce for General Tso's chicken is so simple to make with pantry staple ingredients: rice vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, water, sugar, and some corn starch to thicken the sauce. Simply add the ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine.

Why does General Tso chicken taste different? ›

The original recipe included red chilies, chopped ginger, and dark and light varieties of soy sauce among its ingredients. That flavor profile changed when the dish was brought to America by chefs who decided to adapt it to the local palate.

What is closest to General Tso's chicken? ›

Sesame Chicken, General Tso, and Orange Chicken look quite similar and share some common ingredients, which can make it difficult for some to choose between them. Chicken: Each dish uses chunks of boneless chicken meat (usually thigh).

What does TSO stand for in General Tso? ›

So how on Earth did this strange, foreign concoction come to be recognized abroad as the culinary classic of Hunan Province? General Tso's chicken is named for Tso Tsung-t'ang (now usually transliterated as Zuo Zongtang), a formidable nineteenth-century general who is said to have enjoyed eating it.

Do they eat General Tso's chicken in China? ›

You might be surprised to learn that General Tso's chicken, a staple on Chinese-American menus, is almost entirely foreign to people who live in the country from which it supposedly originated. While the dish isn't exactly authentic Chinese food, its namesake was a very real (and very powerful) general.

What does TSO mean in General Tso Chicken? ›

Peng named the chicken after the Hunanese Qing Dynasty General Tso Tsung-t'ang (now transliterated as Zuo Zongtang). The future general began his military career fighting for the Qing in the Taiping Rebellion, a 14-year civil war waged by the Han Chinese against the Qing emperor.

Should I coat my chicken in cornstarch before frying? ›

Cornstarch Is the Secret to the Crispiest Fried Chicken

It's primarily used as a thickening or gelling ingredient, but it's also a smart ingredient for making cookies softer and for holding together fillings for jammy bars. And, it's the secret ingredient for getting crispy coatings like tempura paper-thin.

What is a substitute for hoisin sauce? ›

Thai chili sauce and oyster sauce together are a particularly good substitute for hoisin sauce, especially when you add a little garlic powder and Chinese five spice to the mix.

What ethnicity is General Tso Chicken? ›

The dish's origins go back to Chinese culinary practices, along with their many regional influences, but its popularity certainly stems in part from the adaptation for North American palates created in New York in the 1970s from the original recipe of the late chef Peng Chang-kuei.

Is General Tso just sweet and sour? ›

Much as with sweet and sour chicken, General Tso's chicken is then tossed in a sticky, sweet sauce, this time made with rice vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sugar. Ginger, garlic, and chili flakes add more depth to the flavor. And it's worth noting that you'll find no ketchup in this sauce.

What is the flavor of General Tso? ›

General Tso's Chicken is that perfect combination of sweet, savoury, spicy and tangy with crispy Chinese chicken bites. It's a Chinese takeout favourite that just pushes all the right buttons!

What is the difference between General Tso's chicken and General Tao's chicken? ›

General Tso's chicken (also known as General Tao's or Tsao's chicken) is an iconic Chinese-American takeout of deep-fried chicken coated in a thick sweet sauce. You can also make it spicy for those who like a little kick.

Is Szechuan chicken the same as General Tso? ›

Another difference is that General Tso's chicken is marinated in a light batter and deep fried. Szechuan chicken is only dusted with flour and shallow fried.

What is the difference between General Tso chicken and General Tao chicken? ›

General Tso's chicken (also known as General Tao's or Tsao's chicken) is an iconic Chinese-American takeout of deep-fried chicken coated in a thick sweet sauce. You can also make it spicy for those who like a little kick.

Is Kung Pao Chicken the same as General Tso? ›

Kung pao chicken and General Tso's chicken are similar in that they are both chicken-based dishes with a hint of chili, but the primary difference is that latter is deep-fried and coated with a syrupy sweet and sour sauce, and the former is coated with a gentle, more balanced sauce.

What do the P and F stand for in PF Chang's? ›

P.F. Chang's was conceived and developed by Paul Fleming (P.F.) and Philip Chiang (Chang) so both names were incorporated into the name of the concept.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Dan Stracke

Last Updated:

Views: 6562

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (43 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Dan Stracke

Birthday: 1992-08-25

Address: 2253 Brown Springs, East Alla, OH 38634-0309

Phone: +398735162064

Job: Investor Government Associate

Hobby: Shopping, LARPing, Scrapbooking, Surfing, Slacklining, Dance, Glassblowing

Introduction: My name is Dan Stracke, I am a homely, gleaming, glamorous, inquisitive, homely, gorgeous, light person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.