Makes 4 servings

The name for this dish is a hybrid of Chang’s Spicy Chicken and General Tso’s Chicken. Chang’s Spicy Chicken is a popular dish available gluten-free at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. But Chang’s Spicy Chicken in truth is just one version of a dish more widely known as General Tso’s Chicken, the broader inspiration for our dish. General Tso’s combines a little sweet and a fair bit of heat in a heavily Americanized version of Hunan-style Chinese cuisine that grew out of New York City in the 1970s. True to the “heat plus sweet” rule for General Tso’s Chicken, our General Chang’s Chicken uses a blend of juices and brown sugar to supply the sweet, and a blend of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and most importantly, ground fresh chili paste, to supply the heat. Serve over Jasmine Rice.

Ingredients: 

Olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
Cornstarch
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
¾ cup orange juice
¾ cup cranberry juice
¼ cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons tamari wheat-free soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground fresh chili paste
¼ cup water
Chopped scallions for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat 4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet or wok. Meanwhile, dredge the cubed chicken breasts fully in cornstarch.

2. Add the chicken to the oil and cook, turning, until cooked through, lightly browned, and crispy on all sides. Transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels.

3. Add the garlic to the remaining olive oil in the skillet (add a little more olive oil, if needed) and cook until fragrant. Add the orange juice, cranberry juice, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and chili paste and stir to mix well. Mix 2 teaspoons cornstarch with the water and stir into the sauce. Bring to a boil.

4. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook until the sauce thickens and the chicken is heated through. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve.

Excerpted from:
Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking by Kelli Bronski and Peter Bronski
© 2009, The Experiment.