Slow Cooker General Tso Chicken

If you love Chinese, the way we do, we bet you’ll LOVE this Slow Cooker General Tso Chicken recipe!  You can make it in the crockpot OR you can make it in the skillet.

Chinese is one of our favorite treats.  Always.  And we have a wonderful Chinese restaurant here in our little town.  Jean and her family have been feeding us their delicious meals for a long time :)

BUT one of my new friends I met while traveling wanted to go out for Chinese.  And I happily agreed.  Sadly, I can only say it was okay.  But nothing to rave about.  And then I started thinking…I could make my own.

And well, this IS a slow cooker site…so I figured I’d give slow cooker general Tso chicken a shot.  I thought it out, experimented a bit and yep…it worked!

Slow Cooker General Tso Chicken Topics

Homemade vs Store-Bought Sauce

For this recipe, the sauce is homemade too.  I’ve seen LOTS of variations of this sauce…even tried several.  THIS is the one we liked the best.  BUT…if you don’t WANT to make your own…you can also purchase it premade.

We’ve tried several versions of the bottled stuff too.  Most are pretty darn good.  Some are HOT…so read about which one you purchase if you go for that instead of homemade.  Here are a few pre-made options we’ve tried that worked out well…

You, personally, might like another better.  Everyone’s tastes is a bit different.  So, if the pre-made options don’t do it for you OR our version (right below) don’t sound quite the thing either…there are several more options at the bottom of this post. Coming soon :)

Some are reader submissions.  Some are one’s given to us over the years…like the one from Genny.  She’s friend from North Dakota.  She gave it to me when I was traveling up there about 8 years ago.  Another is from Randall.  He’s a reader that successfully modified a skillet recipe to a slow cooker idea.  He said he didn’t mind if we shared it with everyone…THANKS, RANDALL :)

So here we go, one by one.  Enjoy…and no matter which one you decide to try…Rock That Crock!

 Slow Cooker Kitchen’s General TSO Chicken Slow Cooker Recipe Step-by-Step

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Cornstarch
• 1 cup Water
• 1 ½ – 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
• 1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Sherry
• 1 tablespoon Chicken flavored Better Than Bouillon (don’t worry about high sodium on this one…per teaspoon, it has less than regular chicken stock AND there are low-sodium options on it too :)
• 2 ½ to 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup Cornstarch
• 2 cups diced onions, any combination of green, yellow and white
• ¼ cup dried hot peppers (remove seeds for milder flavor) ~or~ ¼ cup Louisiana Hot Sauce
• ½ to 1 full bunch of broccoli cut into medium size florets
  
  

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Directions:

Sauce:

1. In a medium bowl combine cold water and cornstarch, mix well
2. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, ½ cup soy sauce, white wine vinegar, sherry, and bouillon; mix well
3. Pour into glass container and shake well about 2 minutes
4. Refrigerate until ready to use (store up to 1 week)

Meat:

1. In a large bowl mix soy sauce, egg and hot sauce (if you are using) beat til well combined
2. Slowly beat in 1 cup cornstarch
3. Add peppers (if using), about ½ the diced onions and the chicken; coat well
4. Heat as least 1 inch of canola or peanut oil (the taste will vary a bit depending on the type of oil you use) in an iron skillet
5. Stir chicken mixture well, spoon lumps of chicken/onion/sauce into skillet and fry for 2-3 minutes (until crispy); turn and repeat
6. Drain on paper towels

Crockpot:

1. Place drained chicken pieces in crockpot insert
2. Shake sauce and pour over chicken; stir well and push chicken pieces under sauce as much as possible
3. Cover and cook on high for about 2 hrs (stir midway through if possible)
4. Uncover, turn heat off and stir chicken mixture (at this point the sauce should be totally thickened)
5. Stir in the broccoli and remaining onions, recover and allow to sit for an additional hour

Skillet:

1. While the chicken is draining SLOWLY pour the sauce into the cast iron skillet or wok
2. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until it starts to thicken and turn a darker color
3. Carefully add back the chicken and gently stir to coat
4. Turn heat to as low as possible, cover and allow to heat through (2 to 4 minutes)

Serve over rice or Chinese noodles & Enjoy!

Pst…if you have a second slow cooker you can also make crockpot rice!  Perfect for Asian/Chinese.  If you don’t have one and are interested in getting one…read on, there are a few recommendations :)

What Sort of Slow Cooker Works Best?

We’ve been asked what sort of crockpot works best…lots.  The short answer is, that’s up to you.  For your needs, for your family size, etc.  We’re in the process of working on writing up comparisons BUT for the time being…here’s the short list:

Crockpot Cook & Carry

The original guys that made the slow cooker were Crock-Pot.  That’s where the name comes from.  They make an AMAZING assortment of slow cookers.  One of the most multi-functional ones that works like a regular slow cooker BUT can be used for potluck, tailgating, etc is the Crock-Pot Cook & Carry.  The clips hold the lid on while you’re transporting your goodies.  It is GREAT.  It’s also a very price.

Cuisinart 3-in-1

Another option that’s completely the BOMB is the Cuisinart 3-in-1.  You can do all the frying right in the crockpot with this puppy!  You can also steam and saute in it too…it comes with a little rack that helps with that, making bread, and all sorts of other stuff…don’t worry, there’s a full run down coming on all this stuff.  But again, in the short-term, if you’re wanting to do your frying and crockin’ all in one spot…this one’s a great option.  It comes is several different sizes that’ll work for about any family size.  The only word of caution…use plastic, silicone or wooden utensils.  The surface can be scratched just like any non-stick coating.

Crockpot General Tso Chicken Printable & Pinnable

Print

Slow Cooker General Tso Chicken

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

2 hrs

Total Time

2 hrs 20 mins

 

This awesome Slow Cooker General Tso's Chicken can be made in the crockpot OR on the stovetop...whatever works best for you! It goes great with our crockpot rice too!

Servings: 8 to 12 servings

Author: Gwen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Cornstarch
• 1 cup Water
• 2 teaspoons garlic minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger minced
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
• 1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Sherry
• 1 tble Chicken flavored Better Than Bouillon
• 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup Cornstarch
• 2 cups diced onions any combination of green, yellow and white
• ¼ cup dried hot peppers remove seeds for milder flavor ~or~ ¼ cup Hot Sauce
• ½ to 1 full bunch of broccoli cut into medium size florets

Instructions

1. 
   To Make the Sauce:
2. Mix the water (make sure it's COLD) and the 1/2 cup cornstarch
3. Add the garlic, ginger, sugar, 1/2 cup of soy, vinegar, sherry and bouillon and mix again
4. If you aren't using it immediately just pour it into a glass container and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.
5. 
   To Prep the Meat:
6. Use a large bowl to mix 1/4 cup soy sauce, the egg and the hot sauce (if you want it hot, it's optional)
7. Slowly beat in the 1 cup of cornstarch.
8. Add the peppers, 1/2 the onions and lastly, the chicken. Mix to coat.
9. Heat as least an inch of oil of your choice in a fryer or iron skillet or wok, heat to 350 degrees.
10. Spoon lumps on the chicken mixture into the skillet and fry 2 to 3 minutes.
11. Drain on paper towels.
12. 
    Crockpot Directions:
13. Place the drained chicken in the crock pot insert.
14. Shake or stir the sauce well and pour over the chicken.
15. Stir to coat and squish the chicken under the sauce as much as possible.
16. Cover and cook on high for about 2 hours (stir midway through if possible)
17. Uncover, stir well. At this point, the sauce should be completely thickened. If not recover and cook in 20 to 25-minute increments until it is (it's never taken me over 2 1/2 hours and that was with 5 pounds of chicken).
18. When the sauce is thickened, stir in the broccoli and remaining onions, recover cook another 20 to 30 minutes.
19. 
    Skillet Method:
20. While the chicken is draining slowly and carefully pour the sauce into either a wok or cast iron skillet.
21. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until it starts to thicken and turn dark and glossy.
22. Add back the chicken while stirring gently to coat.
23. Allow to heat through and serve over rice.

If you like this recipe, we think you’ll also like 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken Breast Dinner…