The General's Chicken

After a long day of shopping, going to the movies and then finally starting my laundry, I wasn't in the mood to make dinner. But when all was said and done, I'm happy I did. I was very satisfied.

When we did the menu planning for the week, I had Sunday night blocked for homemade General Tso's Chicken. It was good. Better than the last time. I made a few changes and simplified the recipe some; due to my lack of desire to cook!

General Tso's Chicken

The first change was which the chicken. For this recipe, the chicken is covered with a mixture of egg whites and cornstarch. With some salt and pepper thrown in for kicks. To bring some more heat to the party, I also added about 1 teaspoon of Sriracha hot sauce. That potent red bottle you find in a variety of Asian restaurants! I'm happy I did. The extra heat and little tang brought a nice bit of attitude to the party.

Other changes... The last time I went to my grocery store, they didn't have fresh ginger. But, they had pre-grated fresh ginger you can buy in a tube. I bought it. Not an ideal situation, but it works in a pinch. And I didn't have to peel or grate the ginger. The other change; also the last time I went to the store, they didn't have fresh green beans, so I bought frozen. Both changes worked well and helped speed dinner along. Pleased as punch. The last change; I used 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper instead of 1/2. Again, more heat help cuts through the sauce and make for a nice hot dish. The Sriracha and extra crushed red pepper are purely personal choices. If you don't want the heat, feel free to alter the quantities or omit altogether.

Sauce and beans are done. Add the chicken back to the pan.

Stir to incorpate the sauce and coat the chicken.

Serve with rice. Now, with the exception of using the rice cooker, this is a one-pot meal and fairly quick! I'll continue to make this.