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It’s so hard sometimes to pick and choose what to post on certain days. Thankfully I have you all on Facebook to help me out :) You guys were clearly craving the take-out, fake-out over the cookies I had wanted to post! Ask and you shall receive! This lightened up version comes from the book I talked about last week, Comfort Food Makeovers by America’s Test Kitchen. The numbers on this dish before ATK’s makeover was crazy! 910 calories, 45 grams of fat, and 5 grams of saturated fat. After? 490 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 1.5 grams of saturated fat. What a difference, huh?!
So, speaking of my Facebook page..let’s just say, when it rains, it POURS. Did any of you follow along with what happened last night? I’m sure 95% of you received that Pinterest email about my Holy Yum Chicken. What a bunch of drama. I seriously have the best fans and readers. You all came up to bat for me with the negative comments and messages. I can’t thank you enough for understanding and realizing this was all beyond my control.
It really irks me that people jump to conclusions and have their own assumptions about everything without getting the facts first. Ever heard that quote, “be kind; for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” ? Well, so many people don’t really know what’s going on in my PERSONAL life and to add what happened yesterday on top of it, just really put me to the tipping point. Seriously, newsflash: this isn’t the end of the world. There are countless of tragedies going on in the world right now (re: OK tornadoes, wars, etc.) and for people to freak out at me over a recipe?! Really people, perspective…
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the recipe below. It’s become one of Jason & I’s favorite! :)
Lightened Up General Tso’s Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil spray
- ¼ cup (31 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 large egg whites
- 5 cups (140 g) Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal, finely crushed
- 1 ½ pounds (680 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all visible fat, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ⅔ cups (394 ml) water
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup (59 g) apricot jam
- 3 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoon canola oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 °F (246 °C). Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, top with wire rack, and spray rack with oil spray.
- Spread flour into shallow dish. Whisk egg whites until foamy in second shallow dish. Spread corn flakes crumbs into third shallow dish. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Working in batches, dredge chicken in flour, dip in egg whites, then coat with corn flakes, pressing gently to adhere. Lay on prepared wire rack.
- Spray chicken with oil spray. Bake until chicken registers 165 °F (74 °C) and coating is brown and crisp, about 12-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk water, soy sauce, apricot jam, hoisin, cornstarch, and vinegar together in a bowl. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in soy sauce mixture, bring to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.
- When chicken is cooked, return sauce to simmer over medium-low heat. Add cooked chicken and toss to coat. Serve with steamed white or brown rice.
On behalf of all the facebook mess, I would like to apologize for all the rude, insensitive, immature people that posted on your site. Your site has always been delightful and you come up with great recipes. Very fun to read. ***PEOPLE!, if you don’t like what you are reading Go to another site. Just learn to be nice! (would your mama be ashamed of your actions? Grow up!!!)*** Thanks Julie :)
Such a smart way to re-create this recipe!
Looks delicious!!! I never did figure out what was happening yesterday, but you are correct…..there are more important things in the world for people to worry about. We’re all here for you:)
How could anyone not want to eat that Julie. Absolutely gorgeous. Plus i’ll have an excuse to eat corn flakes for breakfast!
The first thing I did yesterday when I got the email was come visit your blog for the facts…thanks for providing great recipes and just keep doing what your doing as long as it makes you happy! Can’t wait to try this one!
Now this I HAVE to make. Looks so good!!
Cheers to the positive perspective!
I love this recipe. I am trying to make a lightened up menu more exciting for BF to enjoy eating healthy. with the abundance of take out available to us, its all to easy to just pick up and phone and order in because we are bored of kale and chicken (not really). But this fake out is impressive! I love it! I cant wait to try it out!
I am so sorry people are complete buttheads! You don’t deserve this at all. Shame on people. I guess they need a little reminder, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all!
And I am so making this for dinner this weekend!!!
I love love love your blog. In fact, yours is the first I have ever “subscribed” to, and I get so excited when I see “Table for two” in my inbox. I think cooking sometimes saves my life because I am a pediatric oncology RN, and there are days (nights actually) that are a little more unfortunate than others. It is a privilege to care for the little ones, but there are aspects of it that never get any easier. I appreciate your work, passion, and creativity so much, and I am making this for the husband and me tomorrow. Thank you thank you thank you! Keep rockin’ the grub lady! :-)
I hate that this happened to you Julie. I agree people can be so mean and they don’t know what we are dealing with in our personal lives. Yes, we sometimes share things on our blog but a lot is kept out of it.