General Tso's-Style Baked Chicken

Name: General Tso's-Style Baked Chicken
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Chinese-American
Ingredients: 3.5 lb boneless chicken thighs; 0.5 cup cornstarch; 2 whole large eggs; 0.33 cup soy sauce; 3 tbsp hoisin sauce; 2 tbsp rice vinegar; 3 tbsp brown sugar; 6 whole dried red chilies; 6 cloves garlic cloves; 2 tbsp fresh ginger; 1.5 lb broccoli florets; 4 whole scallions; 3 cups jasmine rice; 1 can olive oil spray

Crispy oven-baked chicken with a sweet-spicy chili glaze baked right in

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 30 min
Serves 8
Difficulty: easy

Chicken thigh chunks get a light cornstarch coating and bake until crisp-edged, then get brushed with a glossy General Tso's-style glaze built on dried chilies, hoisin, garlic, and ginger and baked again until the sauce sets into the coating, served over rice with broccoli.

Why crews like it: Sweet-heat glaze that's genuinely takeout-shop familiar—more chili-forward than a mild honey-garlic chicken. Baking the glaze on instead of tossing it at the end means it actually holds through a hold-and-reheat instead of going soft.

802Cal

49gProtein

76gCarbs

32gFat

Ingredients

3.5 lb boneless chicken thighs
0.5 cup cornstarch
2 whole large eggs
0.33 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp brown sugar
6 whole dried red chilies
6 cloves garlic cloves
2 tbsp fresh ginger
1.5 lb broccoli florets
4 whole scallions
3 cups jasmine rice
1 can olive oil spray

Instructions

Coat and bake the chicken: Toss chicken chunks in beaten egg, then dredge in ¼ cup cornstarch. Arrange on a well-oiled sheet pan with space between pieces. Bake at 425°F 22–25 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden and crisp-edged.
Cook the rice: Rinse and cook jasmine rice per package directions; fluff and hold covered while the chicken bakes.
Make the glaze: Combine soy sauce, hoisin, vinegar, brown sugar, and remaining cornstarch in a saucepan. Add dried chilies, garlic, and ginger, simmer 5–6 minutes, whisking, until thickened and glossy enough to coat a spoon thickly (thicker than a tossing glaze—this one gets brushed on and baked).
Steam the broccoli: Steam broccoli florets 4–5 minutes until bright green and just fork-tender.
Glaze and bake again: Brush the glaze generously over the baked chicken right on the sheet pan. Return to the oven 6–8 minutes until the glaze sets into a sticky, caramelized coating instead of sitting wet on top. Top with scallions, serve over rice with broccoli alongside.

Tonight's spread

Steamed broccoli.
Extra scallions and sesame seeds.

Hall tips

The dried chilies are for aroma more than eating—warn the crew not to bite into them whole.
A wire rack on the sheet pan crisps the chicken on all sides, not just the bottom.
Reduce dried chilies to 3 for a milder, more kid-friendly version at home.

Meal prep

Spread chicken pieces with real space on the sheet pan so they crisp instead of steam. Station: Flip chicken halfway through the first bake for even browning on all sides. Station: Brush the glaze on and bake again briefly so it sets into the coating rather than sitting wet on top—this is what makes it hold and reheat well. Station: Steam broccoli while the chicken bakes so everything finishes together.

Leftovers

Reheat in the oven or air fryer—the baked-in glaze holds up far better than a tossed-on sauce would.
Chop into fried rice the next night with leftover rice.

Half-sheet pan
Small saucepan
Rice pot