Martha's General Tso's Chicken

In an effort to not claim to have found yet another fabulous recipe on Pinterest, I commenced my very own search for a yummy dish. Of course, the moment Martha Stewart's website popped up I knew I'd find something perfect. Martha says that this is the 'lighter' version of things but let me assure you that all the flavor of General Tso's Chicken is intact - and has quite a bit of heat I might add. (Although, that might have a little to do with how Zach secretly tripled the amount of red pepper necessary.) Speaking of Zach, I actually can't take any credit for the cooking of this dish - pretty much all I did was locate it and buy the groceries and then ask my sweet husband to just 'make it happen' while I was busting a move on my treadmill lol. But boy oh boy he did stellar! He even coupled it with my recipe for Egg Fried Rice which was just perfect! (And while we're being honest, if I wasn't on my way out the door to a fitness class at the gym I probably would have sat and ate the entire bowl of General Tso's without even thinking twice!) Besides, it's Martha's recipe - do I even need to praise it, the name says it alone...ok, enough accolades for Martha - let's cook this dish!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 pound snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated and peeled (optional – we omitted)

3 tablespoons light-brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (we used 1 ½ teaspoons but we like it Spicy!)

2 large egg whites

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Add snow peas, garlic, ginger-if you’re using it, sugar, soy sauce, and red-pepper flakes; toss to combine, and set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken, and toss to coat.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Lift half the chicken from egg-white mixture (shaking off excess), and add to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining oil and chicken, and set aside (reserve skillet).

Add snow-pea mixture to skillet. Cover; cook until snow peas are tender and sauce has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet (with any juices); toss to coat. Serve with rice.

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