General Tsao’s Chicken

Ingredients:

•  12 ounces lean chicken
•  1/4 t salt
•  1/2 t ground Szechwan peppercorns
•  1 T Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
•  1 can (4 ounces) bamboo shoots
•  2 T all-purpose flour
•  1 egg, lightly beaten
•  Vegetable oil, for deep-frying.

Sauce:

•  1 T vegetable oil
•  1 garlic clove, finely chopped
•  1 scallion cut into short sections
•  1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
•  1 fresh red chili, seeded and cut into fine strips
•  1 T light soy sauce; 2 T light brown sugar
•  2-3 T tomato paste
•  About 1/2 cup Basic Broth or water.

Procedure:

1. Cut the chicken into small bite-sized cubes and place in a shallow dish. Add the salt, peppercorns and rice wine or dry sherry and marinate for 15-20 minutes.
2. Drain the bamboo shoots and cut them into small cubes the same size as the chicken.
3. Dust the chicken with flour; dip in the beaten egg and coat with more flour. Heat the oil in a preheated wok and deep-fry the chicken in moderate hot oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring to separate the pieces. Remove and drain.
4. Reheat the oil until hot, return the chicken to the wok and add the bamboo shoots. Fry for about 1 minute, or until the chicken is golden. Remove and drain well.
5. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a clean wok or frying pan and add the garlic, scallion, green bell pepper and red chili. Stir-fry for 30-40 seconds, then add the soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, tomato paste and broth or water. Bring to a boil, then add the chicken and bamboo shoots. Heat through and stir to mix, then serve.