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Chinese Take Out Again?
Hang up That Phone and Cook It at Home! By Allison Huller McAlister
In every town we've lived in since we were married (and there have been several!), my husband and I have always made it a point to scope out the restaurant with the best Chinese buffet. We used to joke that we should write a book about the best Chinese restaurants along the East Coast because we have such a knack for finding them wherever we go. Since Chinese cuisine is my husband's absolute favorite food, we make frequent visits to a great Chinese buffet in the area and look forward to the opening of a new take-out restaurant right down the street.
It's long been a dream of my husband's for me to learn how to cook a really good Chinese dinner. Though I've tried several different dishes over the years, none quite measured up to the goodies found on the local buffet table. Honestly, they never even came close. That is, until now. Thanks to my husband's cousin, Frank Jordan, I can now whip up one mean Chinese meal!
Frank's recipes for General Tso's Chicken, Fried Rice and Easier-than-you-think Eggrolls all found their way into our recently published family cookbook. Though I tweaked the recipes for the fried rice and the eggrolls to suit our tastes, I didn't change anything about the General Tso's Chicken recipe. You'd think my husband won the lottery the way he acts when I make this meal! Though the meal the main entr裠in particular takes a bit of work to get on the table, the end result is well worth the effort. For a quick and easy dessert, the Chinese Noodle Cookies provide an appropriate ending to such a scrumptious dinner.
Though a lot goes into the preparation of this dish, let me assure you that it is well worth every bit of effort that's put into it. The chicken cooks up tender yet crispy, and the sauce is simply out of this world. I can confidently say that this recipe rivals that of any General Tso's Chicken we've ever eaten in a Chinese restaurant. Besides producing great-tasting chicken, another cool aspect of this recipe is its versatility. Frank informed me that by changing a few ingredients, I could use this same recipe to make both Sesame Chicken and Orange Chicken. To make Sesame Chicken, add 1/4 cup more sugar to the sauce, omit the white pepper from the breading and exclude the hot peppers. Once the chicken pieces have been coated in the sauce, dip them out and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. For Orange Chicken, also add 1/4 cup more sugar to the sauce and omit the white pepper. Instead of using 16 hot peppers, use two hot peppers and 12 pieces of dried orange peel. How great is that? Three recipes for the price of one!