Lighten Up: General Tso's Chicken

Well, if I get this posted today (Saturday), I can say that I made my one post a week deal. :) I just need to get posting on my to-do list and maybe it would just get done. I love doing this, but other things often drown it out. My inspiration to post today came from an excited purchase I made today. Pooling some Christmas money together, I was able purchase a new camera! It's my first digital SLR, the Canon Digital Rebel XSi. I chose this one because it's said to be a good beginner SLR, and I'm definitely a beginner! The suggestion came from Gina at Skinnytaste.com, who uses the XSi for her food blog photos. I can't wait to get it, figure out how it works (this is key), and start using it! Hopefully this will help enhance the look of my blog and get me posting more! :)

As for the recipe-I tried this a few weeks back, after we had just eaten at a local Chinese buffet with my side of the family. I love their General Tso's Chicken and Mongolian Beef, but I know they are not the best options for someone trying to shed a few pounds. I came across this recipe on Ziplist (which is great if you haven't discovered it yet), and decided to give it a try because of the rave reviews in the comment section. I adapted it a bit to fit what I had on hand and it was a winner! I don't know if I can say that it's better than Imperial Buffet, but it satisfies the Chinese take-out desire in a lighter way. I paired it with some teriyaki veggies and fresh pineapple. Hope you give it a try!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups long-grain brown rice
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1-1/2 lbs. snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise (or more if you like snow peas like I do)
  
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 2 large eggs or 2 large egg whites
  
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

Cook rice according to package directions.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 Tbsp of the corn starch and 1/2 cup cold water, mixture is no longer lumpy. Add snow peas, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes and toss to coat in the cornstarch mixture.

In a another bowl, mix together beaten eggs, 3 Tbsp corn starch, 1/2 tsp salt & 1/2 tsp pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the chicken pieces, shaking off the excess egg mixture. Cook until golden brown, turning a few times (6-8minutes). Remove chicken and cook the remaining chicken, adding another 1 Tbsp of oil to the pan. Remove chicken.

Add snow pea mix to the skillet and cook, covered 3-5 minutes until the peas are tender crisp and the sauce as thickened. Return chicken to skillet and toss with the peas and sauce. Serve with brown rice.

Barely adapted from Martha Stewart's Lighter General Tso's Chicken recipe

Enjoy!
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