Air Fryer General Tso's Chicken
Air Fryer General Tso’s Chicken is made healthier with minimal oil, crispy air fried chicken pieces and a sticky, sweet and spicy sauce!
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 323kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken thighs cut in 1 ½" pieces
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- green onions for serving
General Tso's Sauce:
- 2 ½ tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
- 6 dried red chilies
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water cornstarch slurry
Instructions
- Combine the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and the salt and toss the chicken to coat.
- Spray the air fryer basket with oil, then add the chicken in a single layer (will need to cook in 2-3 batches).
- Spray lightly with oil then cook at 400F degrees for 11-13 minutes, tossing halfway through.
- Remove and place in a bowl and cook remaining chicken.
- While chicken is cooking, combine all the sauce ingredients (except the cornstarch slurry) in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then slowly stir in cornstarch slurry, whisking constantly until the mixture has thickened and is slightly glossy.
- Pour the sauce over the cooked pieces of chicken and serve over rice garnished with green onions.
Notes
- To ensure even cooking, you’ll need to cut your chicken into roughly the same size pieces (about 1 ½ inches in size).
- To make sure the chicken pieces get crispy on all sides, don’t overcrowd the air fryer. This means air frying the pieces in a single layer and in multiple batches.
- Tossing/shaking the basket of chicken pieces at the halfway point will also get them browned on all sides.
- Make sure you use a good quality spray oil to spray the air fryer basket and the chicken pieces. I use this oil sprayer filled with my favorite oil. I don’t recommend using non-stick cooking sprays as they may damage your air fryer.
- If your air fryer model requires preheating, you should preheat it before adding the first batch of chicken.
- Each air fryer cooks a little differently, so you may need to adjust the temperature and air frying time slightly.
- For easy clean up, you can line the bottom of your air fryer basket with parchment paper. (You can buy parchment paper with little holes in it that are made for air fryer baskets).
- To be sure the chicken is done, use a meat thermometer to check. The internal temperature of the chicken pieces should be 165F degrees.
Nutrition
Serving: 4ounces | Calories: 323kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 1321mg | Potassium: 287mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 89IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg