Saturday afternoon, football on the television, copious bottles of Cruzcampo, and a fresh turkey butchered the day before. General Tso's chicken — or in this case, turkey — seemed like the obvious move. The sauce is the thing: sticky, glossy, sharp from rice vinegar, sweet from brown sugar, deep from hoisin and soy. I was sufficiently well refreshed by the time it was done that I was just very pleased it tasted as good as it looked. I didn't even burn the rice.

General Tso's chicken with dried chillies and spring onions — Casa Adora, Saturday football

A NOTE ON THE RECIPE

General Tso's is a Chinese-American classic — deep-fried chicken in a sweet, spicy, tangy sauce — named after a Qing dynasty general who almost certainly never ate it. It appears on every Chinese takeaway menu in Britain and America and almost nowhere in China. Turkey works as well as chicken here, which is what I used on this occasion. Use whichever you have.

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken:

• 300g chicken thighs, cut into chunks (or turkey)
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• Oil for frying

For the sauce:

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce — or homemade hoisin
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 4–6 dried chillies

To serve:

• Spring onions, sliced
• Steamed rice

How to Make General Tso's Chicken

1. Toss the chicken pieces in cornflour until well coated.
2. Heat a good depth of oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat. Fry the chicken in batches until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
3. Mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin, tomato purée, brown sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl.
4. In the same pan with a little fresh oil, fry the garlic, ginger and dried chillies for 30 seconds until fragrant.
5. Pour in the sauce mixture and bring to a bubble. Cook for 1–2 minutes until slightly thickened.
6. Return the chicken to the pan and toss to coat in the glossy sauce.
7. Serve immediately over steamed rice, scattered with sliced spring onions.

CLOSING PARAGRAPH

The sauce reduces quickly once the chicken goes back in — don't walk away. Sticky, glossy, a little heat from the chillies, a little sweet from the sugar. If you enjoy bold Asian-inspired chicken dishes, try the Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken — a different flavour profile, equally satisfying.

FOOTNOTE

This General Tso's chicken recipe is part of the Chicken Recipes hub — a complete collection of chicken and poultry recipes from Casa Adora and the road. Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef.