General Tso sauce recipe needed!!

DaSavedSinner

I love Chinese food, more specific General Tso. I have attempted to make my own sauce a few times with out good results. The local restaurant I go to has awesome sauce that is better than any other I have tried and I can buy it for cheap there as well. Now I would like to be able to make a cost effective alternative ($3 per qt is what it costs at the restaurant) but as healthy as possible. I would like to use splenda instead of sugar and still use some corn starch or similar to retain the texture of it. Any recipes and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Confuzzled4ever

my two favorite Chinese food recipes:

Orange Chicken
A delicious alternative to take-out!

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Easy - for beginners

Ingredients


3/4 cup natural orange juice
1/3 cup natural orange marmalade
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup coarsely chopped green peppers
1 seedless orange, peeled sliced and cut in half, or about 1/2 cup canned mandarin oranges, drained (optional)
2 cups cooked white rice (I use brown.. I do not like white)

Method

In a small bowl, stir together first six ingredients; set aside.

Place flour on a sheet of waxed paper; coat chicken, then shake off excess.

In a 10-in. skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in three batches until tender and lightly browned on all sides. Remove chicken and keep warm. Add remaining oil to skillet; cook and stir green onions and green pepper for 1 minute. Stir in orange juice mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Add chicken and orange slices (if using); heat through. Serve over rice.



General TSO Chicken
Here's a light version of the standard General Tso's Chicken- lower in fat, carbs, sodium and calories.

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 T. cornstarch
1 egg white
1 T. dry sherry
1 T lite soy sauce (low sodium is better esp if you add the salt called for below)
1 t. dark sesame oil or canola oil (sesame tastes better)
1 t. sugar (I don't add this)
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 t. salt (I don't add this)
1/4 t. white pepper
2 T. canola oil or peanut oil
1 ( 1-in. piece) fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
2 green onions with tops, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
(I double or triple the amount of peppers called for and add broccli and celery cause I'm a veggie nut)

1. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Cut chicken crosswise into 1/4-inch wide strips. Combine chicken and cornstarch in large bowl. Add egg white; stir to combine. Set aside.

2. Combine sherry, soy sauce, 1 t. sesame oil, sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and white pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Heat wok or large skillet over high heat about 1 minute or until hot. Drizzle 2 T. canola or peanut oil into wok and heat 3 seconds. Add chicken; stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from wok and keep warm. Reduce heat to medium.

4. Add ginger and garlic; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add green bell pepper and green onions; stir-fry 1 minute. Return chicken to wok. Add sherry mixture; stir-fry until well mixed and heated through.

YIELD: 4 servings

Calories.........231
Calories from Fat..37%
Total Fat.........9 g
Sat. Fat..........1 g
Carb..............7 g
Cholesterol......68 mg
Sodium..........364 mg

purple180

Bump for recipes. Thanks!