General Tsao's Chicken

I have to be honest, I don't usually make recipes with long ingredient lists but I did have everything in the pantry so I figured - go for it. It really wasn't hard at all, so happy I made it, in fact it was so delicious I was tempted to make it 2 days in a row even though we had it for dinner and then leftovers for lunch the next day.
So delicious, you may even want to double the sauce so you can eat it by the spoonful or ummm pour it over rice.

General Tsao's Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups vegetable oil for frying
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 strip orange zest (just slice a piece of orange peel)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 tablespoons chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

DRIECTIONS

1. Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken cubes; sprinkle with salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and white pepper; mix well. Mix in 1 cup of cornstarch a little bit at a time until the chicken cubes are well coated.
3. In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until they turns golden brown and begin to float, about 5 minutes, flip chicken if necessary. Cook until the chicken turns deep golden brown. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the green onion, garlic and orange zest. Cook and stir a minute until the garlic has turned golden, add 1/2 cup sugar, the ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into the water, and stir into the boiling sauce. Return to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy from the cornstarch, about 1 minute, remove orange zest (peel) Stir the chicken into the boiling sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes until the chicken absorbs some of the sauce.

Serve with rice or vegetables & enjoy!