General Tso's Chicken

Method

1. marinate15 min
   half the soy, while everything else stages
   chicken in 2 tbsp soy while the sauce assembles — a short seasoning soak, not a velvet; the coating comes next and does the texture work
2. mix3 min
   sauce staged: everything in one bowl
   remaining soy + hoisin + vinegar + sugar + stock + 1 tbsp cornstarch stirred smooth — the glaze equation: hoisin for dark depth, vinegar against the sugar, cornstarch to make it cling; staged now because the finish moves fast
3. season5 min
   egg, then cornstarch, craggy
   marinated chicken through egg then the remaining cornstarch, pressed into a rough shell — same armor as the catalog's orange chicken, built for the same war: staying crisp under hot glaze
4. fry14 min
   350°F, twice — the second fry is the secret
   pieces fried 3 minutes to pale gold, rested 5 while the next batch goes, then ALL of it refried 90 seconds to deep bronze — the double fry drives moisture out of the crust's walls; single-fried crust is crisp for a minute, double-fried survives the sauce to the bottom of the plate
5. saute1 min
   medium-high, chilies first
   dried chilies in a spoonful of the frying oil until they darken and smoke faintly, garlic + ginger for thirty seconds behind them — the toasted chilies are the dish's signature aroma; they season the oil and warn the eye, and eating them whole is for the brave
6. simmer2 min
   sauce in, to a shining glaze
   + the sauce mixture until it thickens and turns glossy — the hoisin makes this glaze darker and rounder than orange chicken's; pull at spoon-coating
7. toss2 min
   off heat, chicken and broccoli through
   fried chicken + steamed broccoli folded through the glaze, scallions over — the broccoli is the honest half of the plate and the best sauce delivery vehicle on it; serve now, the crust's countdown is running