Tim Chin is a professional cook and writer who has contributed to Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen. A graduate of The International Culinary Center, Tim has cooked at restaurants in New York and Boston, working at Rouge Tomate, Northern Spy, and BiSq.

Tim Chin

General Tso’s chicken is about as American a dish as you can get—a mainstay in Chinese American restaurant menus across the country. Whether you call it General Tso’s, General Gau’s (we see you, New England), or General Ching’s, its origins are distinctly rooted in American tastes. T.T. Wang, a Chinese immigrant, learned the original recipe from Peng Chang-Kuei, a Hunanese chef who claims to have invented the dish. Wang adjusted it for the American palate, battering and deep frying the chicken instead of stir-frying it and making the sauce considerably sweeter.The result was a master class in flavor and texture. Crispy, crunchy, sweet, sour, savory, and just a little bit spicy, General Tso’s exploded in popularity and became one of the most iconic Chinese American dishes today. We max out the crispiness and, with some tweaks to the dredge, make sure it stays crispy.It’s so good it’ll convince even the most die-hard takeout fans to swear off soggy General Tso’s for life. (Although we’d never fault you for supporting your local Chinese American businesses!)

General Tso’s Chicken