Lighter General Tso's Chicken

This comes from a recent issue of Everyday Food magazine. Our Chinese fake-out is usually limited to Kung Pao Chicken, since it's my husband's favorite, but I thought I'd give this recipe a whirl for something different. I'm not sure I've ever had General Tso's chicken from a restaurant, so I probably and not the best one to right a review. Regardless, we loved it! It's a light sweet sauce with a good spicy kick. I added zucchini sticks to mine for a little vegetable variety. The other reason I wanted to try it was to test drive the egg white batter technique, and ultimately I thought it was easy and worked well. I'll definitely use that in other recipes.


Lighter General Tso's Chicken
Source: Everyday Food
Serves 4

* 1 1/4 cups long-grain brown rice
* 1/4 cup cornstarch
* 1 pound snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise
* 4 garlic cloves, sliced
* 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated and peeled
* 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
* 2 large egg whites
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower

Directions

1. Cook rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Add snow peas, garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, and red-pepper flakes; toss to combine, and set aside.
2. In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken, and toss to coat.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Lift half the chicken from egg-white mixture (shaking off excess), and add to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining oil and chicken, and set aside (reserve skillet).
4. Add snow-pea mixture to skillet. Cover; cook until snow peas are tender and sauce has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet (with any juices); toss to coat. Serve with rice.