Healthier General Tso’s Chicken

This post is sponsored by The Feed.

Ummm what is even happening? This is seriously the best day.

This is the day I get to eat Healthier General Tso’s chicken for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midnight snack. This is also the day that I get to share with you the recipe for this sweet and saucy and sorta spicy takeout classic from America’s Test Kitchen’s new cookbook, Comfort Food Makeovers.

Before I go on, can I just talk about how this is my dream cookbook? Comfort food recipes are my favorites. Hands down. Surprise, right? But these ones are lightened up by the cooking experts at ATK who seriously never produce a bad recipe. That’s why they’re the test kitchen, duh. Nothing sketchy about these recipes: just better ingredients, better preparation, and bestest results.

I know this is going to throw us way off track, but I’m willing to go there because I need to tell you that there are recipes for things like chicken parmesan, Chinese chicken salad, French onion soup, pork lo mein, cinnamon rolls, peanut butter pie. Lightened. Up. Angels = singing.

Please look at the full list of recipes and feel happy. I’m already head over heels in love and I’ve only had one hundred pieces of General Tso’s Chicken.

I am seriously excited for you to get your hands on this book. But until it’s available (five more days!) knock yourself out with some yummy General Tso’s Chicken and check out ATK’s site called The Feed. It has me thinking I should try to make my own pizza rolls, and that right there is my kinda website.

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Healthier General Tso’s Chicken

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4.6 from 67 reviews

• Author: America’s Test Kitchen Comfort Food Makeovers
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x

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Description

This healthier version of General Tso’s Chicken is a winner! Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen’s new cookbook. Just like takeout!

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Ingredients

Scale1/2x1x2x

• Vegetable oil spray
• 1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large egg whites
• 5 cups (5 ounces) Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal, finely crushed
• 1 1⁄2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all visible fat, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 2⁄3 cups water
• 1⁄3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1⁄4 cup apricot jam
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

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Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, top with wire rack, and spray rack with oil spray. Spread flour into shallow dish. Whisk egg whites until foamy in second shallow dish. Spread Corn Flakes crumbs into third shallow dish. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Working in batches, dredge chicken in flour, dip in egg whites, then coat with Corn Flakes, pressing gently to adhere; lay on prepared wire rack.
2. Spray chicken with oil spray. Bake until chicken registers 160 degrees and coating is brown and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk water, soy sauce, apricot jam, hoisin, corn- starch, and vinegar together in bowl. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in soy sauce mixture, bring to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.
4. When chicken is cooked, return sauce to simmer over medium-low heat. Add cooked chicken and toss to coat. Serve.

Notes

I baked my chicken directly on the baking sheet because I didn’t have a wire rack. It worked fine. I’d also recommend using a blender or food processor to crush the corn flakes into very fine crumbs.

• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: Asian

Keywords: healthy general tso’s chicken, general tso’s chicken, healthier general tso’s

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This post is sponsored by The Feed.