Lighter General Tso's Chicken

883 Ratings
  • 5 303
  • 4 272
  • 3 181
  • 2 94
  • 1 33

Save some calories and a little cash with this DIY makeover of the popular Chinese takeout meal.

Everyday Food, October 2008

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Read the full recipe after the video.

Recipe Summary

total:
45 mins
prep:
45 mins
Servings:
4
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Ingredients

Directions

  • Cook rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Add snow peas, garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, and red-pepper flakes; toss to combine, and set aside.

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  • In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken, and toss to coat.

  • In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Lift half the chicken from egg-white mixture (shaking off excess), and add to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining oil and chicken, and set aside (reserve skillet).

  • Add snow-pea mixture to skillet. Cover; cook until snow peas are tender and sauce has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet (with any juices); toss to coat. Serve with rice.

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Reviews (83)

883 Ratings
  • 5 303
  • 4 272
  • 3 181
  • 2 94
  • 1 33
Martha Stewart Member
03/29/2020
Delicious. Egg white & cornstarch made a great light coating; I was glad I used a copper nonstick pan because it did want to stick to the pan a bit when frying. Perfect amount of garlic/ginger/soy flavor and spice. May opt to double the sauce next time, but this is a winner! You may not want to get Chinese takeout again.
Martha Stewart Member
01/03/2018
Loved this recipe. Great flavor. I did sub raw sugar for brown sugar. I also added a can of water chestnuts. I altered method, I stir fried the snow peas and water chestnuts first, removed to bowl, then stir fried the chicken, then added the sauce and added veggies back in. That kept the veggies crisp. Very happy with the results, a hit with the whole family. I will definitely make again.
Martha Stewart Member
08/01/2014
Great recipe! Have added to bookmarks. Taste is as if you went to a restaurant - but healthier!
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Martha Stewart Member
02/26/2014
My family loved this recipe - kids included! Made it as written and turned out great. This will definitely make the dinner rotation.
Martha Stewart Member
11/22/2013
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Martha Stewart Member
11/13/2013
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Martha Stewart Member
10/30/2013
This turned out just as I expected, and it was great. Bonus: Using gluten-free soy sauce, this is a gluten-free recipe.
Martha Stewart Member
09/17/2013
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Martha Stewart Member
09/07/2013
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Martha Stewart Member
08/10/2013
I made this recipe for my picky, finicky husband. It's like trying to feed a 3 year old sometimes!! And he LOVED it!! This is now become a staple to our recipes! I'm so happy I found one that's half way decent for us health wise and that he scarfs down with no hesitation. Thank you!
Martha Stewart Member
07/23/2013
This was delicious and surprisingly easy to make! I added frozen peas and water chestnuts to the snow pea mixture. Next time I’ll add carrots to the mix. I will be making this again!
Martha Stewart Member
07/15/2013
Very nice recipe. There is a very strong taste of ginger but I like it that way. This was enjoyed by the whole family. www.celluliteselfhelp.com
Martha Stewart Member
07/13/2013
Absolutely no disappointments here.. this pot roast will rein over anyother recipie you might be using. Full of flavor and taste that you can serve with pride & confidence. Simply follow the recipie, serve and then wait for the accolades to come. Gorras
Martha Stewart Member
05/20/2013
WOW its to good i will try this at home to bake for my childerns that can very happy to ate this ... payday loans online
Martha Stewart Member
05/14/2013
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Martha Stewart Member
05/04/2013
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Martha Stewart Member
04/05/2013
Very skeptical about any "as-good-as-take-out" recipe, but we tried this one . . . and LOVED it. Works well with just about any vegetable we've tried.
Martha Stewart Member
04/04/2013
Just saw this recipe today, made it for dinner and it is great!! It is so much better than eating out. I didn't use the snap peas. I used broccoli and carrots. My Husband loved it as well!
Martha Stewart Member
03/22/2013
We absolutely loved this recipe. I didn't have snap peas and used broccoli which I think I might like better. I went heavy on the ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. I think it was better than any carryout around. This is going to be in our rotation of chicken dishes. It even tastes better leftover, so I will be sure to make plenty the next time so my husband can enjoy it the next day as well. lol...
Martha Stewart Member
02/07/2013
i would like to have a printing option for the recipe i would like to try, it would make it easy to print directly from that page
Martha Stewart Member
02/04/2013
To be honest, I have to admit it first and foremost that anything cooked together with rice is my favourite food, it's not all about here that it can be also ordered out, it's just about taking care of your own health, making goood eating habits during the time and simply enjoying the life. I would definitely recommend this wonderful recipe to anyone willing to do all the mentioned pea coats above!
Martha Stewart Member
01/29/2013
I personally wouldn't call this a 'quick' recipe, but it's well worth the extra effort. It's one of our favorites in our house since general tso's is my husband's favorite. The ingredients are simple yet very scrumptious.
Martha Stewart Member
01/27/2013
Thinking about making this for my family...and I was wondering about substituting broccoli for the peas. My husband doesn't like them. Any thoughts?
Martha Stewart Member
01/05/2013
I am generally leary of "lighter" recipes as they are usually not worth the effort, but this was a pleasant suprise. I recently moved to an area where there is a lack of quality chinese food restaurants and was desperately craving General Gao's Chicken. Let me tell you, this recipe does not dissapoint. Of course it won't taste identical to the full fat version, but it tastes delicious in it's own right. Make it, you won't be dissapointed!
Martha Stewart Member
09/07/2012
When eating a lighter recipe, the sauce is SUPPOSED to lighter...making more sauce defeats the purpose of lighter
Martha Stewart Member
09/07/2012
When eating a lighter recipe, the sauce is SUPPOSED to lighter...making more sauce defeats the purpose of lighter
Martha Stewart Member
08/06/2012
I loved this recipe and had a wonderful time doing it, but I didn't have enough sauce and flavor. Double the sauce and it should be fine.
Martha Stewart Member
06/08/2012
Loved this recipe. Followed the advice and doubled the chicken and increased the sauce. Added a bag of frozen veggies - but over steamed a bit before I added everything together - next time no pre-steaming. Added jar of small mushrooms and baby asian corn. Loved it!
Martha Stewart Member
04/01/2012
Very good recipe. Next time, I will increase the chicken by 1/2 lb. It needed a bit more.
Martha Stewart Member
03/07/2012
I would call this recipe Lieutenant Tso's. The sauce is not very viscous (adding honey may be a good idea), and it called for additional spices to give it some impact. We doubled the chicken to two pounds, thankfully, because had we not, it would have been a snowpea salad with some chicken on top. It was fine, but not like the take-out.
Martha Stewart Member
02/19/2012
I prepared this recipe tonight because I wanted to avoid getting take-out, and it was amazing! Way better than take out! I modified it by adding sliced carrots...
Martha Stewart Member
02/07/2012
This was wonderful! I found this while searching for the famous Chicken Orzo recipe which I am making tomorrow. So tonight, I made this recipe with pork instead of chicken and it was delicious. I am sure it is equally wonderful with chicken and I may try it with shrimp. Next time, I will add some julienned carrots, water chestnuts and baby corn just to amp up the vegetables. My PICKY eaters gobbled it up! Definitely a keeper! THANKS MARTHA!
Martha Stewart Member
02/04/2012
Delicious! My husband and I are counting calories, so we were excited to try a lighter version of General Tsao's. The chili pepper flakes provide just the right amount of heat. The sauce is not as sweet as some variations - but it is perfect with the ginger, garlic and brown sugar. We added some sliced carrots and water chestnuts.
Martha Stewart Member
02/01/2012
AMAZING. Seriously. I had my doubts ... but our family of four all loved it. Amazing flavor - not TOO spicy - delicious!
Martha Stewart Member
01/17/2012
THIS WAS WONDERFUL. VERY EASY AND GREAT FLAVOR. EVEN MY HUSBAND LOVED IT.
Martha Stewart Member
01/03/2012
Excellent... better than ordering it out!
Martha Stewart Member
12/20/2011
A new family favorite! I should have doubled the sauce (will do next time). Used broccoli and served over white rice. No leftovers! m
Martha Stewart Member
12/12/2011
Super recipe! My three picky eaters and husband loved, loved, loved this. I doubled the batch and used the leftovers for lunch.
Martha Stewart Member
12/07/2011
This was a very big hit with my husband and teenaged son. Pretty dish, also. I will definitely make it again.
Martha Stewart Member
11/28/2011
Will be making this again.. I doubled the sauce as others mentioned. Maybe cut back on the sugar. BUT was very tasty over brown rice!!! Oh and I added extra chile flakes and lots of ginger
Martha Stewart Member
11/16/2011
Yum! Great recipe! I will double the sauce next time too. The chicken was so tender and moist.
Martha Stewart Member
09/26/2011
I've made this twice now, and my family loves it! The second time, I did double the sauce and instead of peas I added green onion. Two thumbs up for this recipe!
Martha Stewart Member
09/17/2011
Made this last week and it was a hit! Served over brown rice. I think the only modification I would have made was doubling the sauce components for more sauce.
Martha Stewart Member
07/20/2011
Very good. I would recommend cooking the snow peas in the shorter time frame, mine turned out a bit soft. I also added the rice in with the chicken mix at the end. Yum!
Martha Stewart Member
07/03/2011
This was very delicious, worth the extra effort.
Martha Stewart Member
06/28/2011
A little time intensive but VERY tasty without the fat. I really liked the batter for the chicken and will totally use this strategy for other Asian inspired stir-fries. The sauce was the right balance of spicy and sweet. Will make again.
Martha Stewart Member
02/13/2011
The end product was delicious and a definite hit, but just beware of all the starchy mix that sticks to the pan when cooking the chicken. Before adding your second half of the marinaded chicken, I'd suggest scraping it off to avoid it from burning/getting in the way of the heat from getting to the chicken.
Martha Stewart Member
02/09/2011
Oops...I wrote etools and it changed it to stools!
Martha Stewart Member
02/09/2011
For Weight Watchers: Plug in the recipe ingredients on stools and it will calculate the points for you.
Martha Stewart Member
02/09/2011
For Weight Watchers: Plug in the recipe ingredients on stools and it will calculate the points for you.
Martha Stewart Member
01/22/2011
Is anyone on weightwatchers? This sounds good. But I need to be able to calculate the point value. I wish Martha would include the nutritional information for her recipes. Thanks.
Martha Stewart Member
11/30/2010
I made this tonight for the first time and it was absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe except I used Splenda brown sugar blend instead of regular brown sugar, and I also used shrimp instead of chicken. I added julienned carrots and mushrooms to it as well. This will definitely be a regular meal for me now.
Martha Stewart Member
11/21/2010
This was delicious.. we added fresh broccoli, green peppers, carrots and pineapple. It is an easy recipe worth making!
Martha Stewart Member
11/18/2010
This was fab. A lot less expensive than ordering takeout. Followed recipe exactly and added waterchestnuts. Yum.
Martha Stewart Member
11/01/2010
My egg white and cornstarch mixture did not stick to the chicken. Should I have made sure it was really dry first? How can I solve this problem next time. We really enjoyed this dish!
Martha Stewart Member
06/23/2010
This is one of my go-to recipes. I use frozen snap peas instead of fresh and it works fine. The chicken comes out crispy and flavorful (I substitute thigh meat). This is a healthy and delicious staple meal.
Martha Stewart Member
06/09/2010
This was fantastic. No problems with breading sticking. Well done, Martha Stewart website.
Martha Stewart Member
06/08/2010
This is alright. I didn't have much luck with the breading sticking to the chicken in the pan... it stuck to the pan instead. I thought the sauce tasted okay. I probably won't be making this particular version again... Guess I'll keep looking for the perfect at-home General Tso's dish.
Martha Stewart Member
05/04/2010
Wonderful recipe. I prefer a less hot version but my husband added hot sauce to his serving and lioved it too! He didn't even realize it was a "light" version.
Martha Stewart Member
03/29/2010
This is a great recipe! Awesome flavor! I added a sliced red pepper to the snow pea mixture also. And the I served it with a salad with Carrot Ginger dressing. I will be making this again!
Martha Stewart Member
02/15/2010
I thought this was delicious! I'm always hesitant to order this off a Chinese menu because I know it's loaded with calories. This was a great alternative. Be careful with the red pepper flakes - it gets very spicy very quickly!
Martha Stewart Member
01/17/2010
I think they forgot about the brown sugar in the directions. I assume to mix it in with all the other stuff.
Martha Stewart Member
07/10/2009
Not as good as I was hoping for. A bit sweet --next time I'd use 2 TB brown sugar and put egg-white mixture dipped chicken chunks on a rack before adding to pan so excess coating doesn't make them clump together. Time consuming de-stringing and prepping the snow peas. Need srichacha.
Martha Stewart Member
03/03/2009
Does anyone think the meal would be compromised in any way if I left the cutlets whole? Once I made a similar dish and it was very labor intensive. Thanks.
Martha Stewart Member
02/03/2009
I made this 2 days ago. I thought it was easy and delicious and would definitely make it again. The sauce has just the right amount of heat and sweetness.
Martha Stewart Member
01/20/2009
This dish was so yummy! Substituted green beans for snow peas because it was what I had on hand and also added toasted almonds. I will probably add extra red pepper flakes next time and maybe some hoison sauce. Otherwise it's fabulous! Definitely will make it again.
Martha Stewart Member
01/20/2009
Fairynuff I don't understand what you are talking about when you say "done with cornflower makes a rather nice change than bread crumbing it." There is cornstarch in the recipe, but not cornflour? At any rate I am going to try the recipe since it sounds really easy and very good.
Martha Stewart Member
12/19/2008
Is a nice change to the common week night meals. Nice flavor....you could even substitute the peas for other vegetables - peppers, carrots..
Martha Stewart Member
12/12/2008
This dish is amazing! The chicken comes out quite crispy , done with the cornflour makes a rather nice change than bread crumbbing it .My nan had a taste of just the chicken , and she loved it, she had some on a plate with salad which also looked yummy. Anyone thinking of trying this dish should DO IT you won't be disappointed .
Martha Stewart Member
12/09/2008
I made this for dinner last night with brocolli instead of snow peas (my kids won't eat them!). It was bland somehow even with the red-pepper flakes. We did love the texture of the chicken though. Next time I'll add a couple tablespoons of hoisin paste to the sauce to give it the little something it was missing...
Martha Stewart Member
11/28/2008
I make a different menu every week so we keep our diets varied and interesting; this is the only repeat performer in a good couple of months. YUMMM
Martha Stewart Member
11/17/2008
My husband loved this when I made it and now it's something that he makes for the both of us. (wink)
Martha Stewart Member
10/28/2008
I will probaby just smash the garlic next time (didn't like eating the pieces). Good flavor. My 2 year old had seconds.
Martha Stewart Member
10/19/2008
Made this tonight and it was very good. I will make this again for sure. Everyone finished their dinner!
Martha Stewart Member
10/15/2008
Hi Marcie, all you have to do to email this recipe, is to copy and paste...if you do not know how, here goes: left click and hold down on what you want to copy and drag down til you are at the end of what you want copied...it should all turn blue hi-lited...then right click on COPY...open up your email compose page, just like you were writing a letter to be emailed...click inside your email body and RIGHT CLICK your mouse and hit PASTE...Then just email your letter ; ) Micheline
Martha Stewart Member
10/15/2008
It was just like chinese take out but only better. The flavors and texture and look of this dish were outstanding. It was a very healthy version. And it was very easy. And I learned new things with this recipe. Thank you for making "good things" easier to come into my home.
Martha Stewart Member
10/15/2008
I have made this recipe at least 4 times in my house and my kids and husband can't get enough.
Martha Stewart Member
10/15/2008
Looks like a great recipe. How do I e-mail it? I get a box and even after changing the display setting. We can't get to the send button. ??
Martha Stewart Member
10/15/2008
This dish was delicious, and easy, and I had everything I needed already in my kitchen except for the pea pods. I substituted carrots and broccoli for the pea pods tho and my husband and I both loved it!
Martha Stewart Member
10/14/2008
this was amazing and so easy to make.
Martha Stewart Member
10/14/2008
This was fabulous. Quick and really tasty.
Martha Stewart Member
10/14/2008
Excellent!
Martha Stewart Member
10/14/2008
I made this last night and it was a huge hit! Great recipe. Very authentic, and so much healthier than the restaurant version. I agree with the other commenter about topping with sliced scallions. I might also add toasted sesame seeds as a garnish.
Martha Stewart Member
10/10/2008
This was SO YUMMY! As good as the Chinese takeout we usually get, but much healthier. Made it on a weeknight, too..very fast. The only caveat: the hot oil does tend to splatter, so there IS some stove clean-up after the fact, but it is WELL worth it. I might mix in some sliced scallions just before serving, but that's just a personal preference.
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