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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.Vegetable 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.1/4 cup (31 g) all-purpose flour, 3 large egg whites, 5 cups (140 g) Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal, 1 1/2 pounds (680 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 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.1 2/3 cups (394 ml) water, 1/3 cup (79 ml) low sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup (59 g) apricot jam, 3 tablespoon hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 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.2 teaspoon canola oil, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 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.
All your food looks so good, just not sure its weight watchers likeable. Need protein, carbs, fat and fiber to calculate.
Thanks bobbie
Hi Bobbie, sorry, I can’t help ya there with that as I’m not familiar with anything WW. I don’t have the time to calculate protein carbs, fat, and fiber, nor do I have the right tools or skills to, so therefore I’m unable to help :( the numbers I got were from the cookbook I used so they gave no further information.
When printing your recipes – place make sure a picture is also allowed so that we can refer to what it should look like when made… thanks.
Hi LC, thanks for the feedback. I don’t include a picture in the printer friendly version because printer friendly is supposed to help out the printer by not using too much ink. I will definitely take your note into consideration though and incorporate that in a future design :)
Can’t wait to make this ASAP!!!
Please don’t spend one more ounce of energy on those negative people. They need to get a life.
Keep doing what you’re doing girl! Thanks for sharing this recipe. Looks delish!
I’ve had a slow cooker general tsos on my list of things to make for awhile. But now I cannot decide between the two!
I am so glad you posted this. Although, I could have sworn you posted it a few weeks ago. I even told my coworker about it and then I couldn’t find the recipe. :) Hopefully, I’m not crazy and you put a picture up on Instagram or something. Can’t wait to try this out since I absolutely adore General Tso’s Chicken.
So much better than take-out!
I don’t understand why people were upset? It’s a fucking pin on pinterest. Shut your computer down and go outside, you psychopaths.
:) That’s how I feel about people being mean to you.
Love your take-out, fake-outs – so inspiring!
Gah it makes me so mad how much people target you! But you also have a huge support system, and it includes me (which is basically the best ever ;) ). People need to get a life, and get off the computer and go make this because it looks amazing! Matt asked me this morning when I am going to make it for him! I guess that means I need to!