• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free Dinner Ebook! Get your copy!

Join the Little Sunny Kitchen email family!

Get our FREE dinners ebook!

  • Meet Diana
  • Favorite Products
  • Videos
  • Learn to Cook

Little Sunny Kitchen

Delicious Recipes for Real Life

  • All Recipes
  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Sides
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Pasta
    • Soups & Chilis
    • Desserts
    • Sauces & Dressings
    • Beverages
  • Holiday
    • Christmas
    • Valentine’s
    • Easter
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Thanksgiving
    • Halloween
  • Method
    • Instant Pot
    • Air Fryer
    • Slow Cooker
    • Oven
    • Stovetop
    • Grill
  • Easy Meals
  • Appetizers
  • Drinks
  • Slow Cooker
  • Air Fryer
  • Restaurant Copycats
  • Summer Faves
Home Recipes By Type Sauces, Dressings & Seasonings

General Tso’s Sauce

5
/5 –
Rate Recipe 3 Comments
Jump to Recipe
  • Share
By: Diana Posted: 7/31/20 Updated: 8/8/20

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

General Tso's Sauce pinnable image
General Tso's Sauce pinnable image

Easy 3-minute General Tso’s Sauce that you can make a large jar of, to use later for a quick dinner! Use this rich, sweet, and spicy sauce to make a delicious stir fry on a busy weeknight.

General Tso's Sauce in a Pyrex glass jug

You know when you go to a packed Chinese restaurant, you order a dish, and it comes in just 10 minutes. Ever wondered how they manage to cook your dish so quickly? Well, I hate to disappoint you, but the chefs in the restaurants won’t make your sauce from scratch just for you! They usually pre-mix their sauces beforehand and just throw everything in the wok the minute they receive your order.

This General Tso’s sauce is my go-to sauce that I use for stir frys on days when I’m craving a Chinese takeout but want to make my own quickly at home. It’s the BEST, quickest, and easiest sauce that you can make for your stir frys, chicken, shrimp, tofu, and of course, to make the famous General Tso’s chicken dinner that we grew up eating!

This sauce can be used as a marinade for the chicken, and as a sauce for a stir fry (but if you want an all-purpose stir fry sauce, I have the recipe for you).

I usually double or triple this recipe to make a large bottle/jar and store it until I need to use it for a weeknight dinner.

This is the sauce in my General Tso’s Chicken recipe! Or, if you have an Instant Pot, then definitely try my Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken recipe, it’s SO good!

The Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this sauce:

Ingredients needed to make the sauce

Sesame oil, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and water.

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

To thicken the sauce, you will need to make a cornstarch slurry. If you can’t do cornstarch, substitute with arrowroot powder. To make the slurry, mix 1 or 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with a little bit of water, then mix it in the sauce as it’s simmering. Whisk with a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon until the sauce is thickened.

A close up shot of the sauce and a spoon

The Directions

Simply mix all of the ingredients in a medium bowl or jug, and either use right away or store in a container in the fridge for up to 1 month.

To use the sauce, whisk well (if stored in a jar, shake very well) as the cornstarch usually sits at the bottom. And cook in skillet until it thickens, then toss with the prepared chicken.

How to use the sauce to make General Tso’s Chicken

All you have to do is fry the chicken, fry the aromatics (garlic, ginger, and chili flakes), then add the sauce and thicken it. So easy! Get full instructions for the best General Tso’s Chicken here.

You can also steam some broccoli or any veg of choice to serve it on the side.

What does General Tso’s Sauce taste like?

General Tso’s sauce is sweet, savory, tangy, and spicy at the same time. Basically, all the amazing flavors in one sauce!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe
5 from 5 votes
(Click stars to rate!)

General Tso’s Sauce

Prep Time: 3 mins
Total Time: 3 mins
Author: Diana
Print Rate Recipe Email Recipe
Use this rich, sweet, and spicy General Tso's sauce to make a delicious stir fry on a busy weeknight.
1 serving
Use this rich, sweet, and spicy General Tso's sauce to make a delicious stir fry on a busy weeknight.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar Note 1
  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce Note 2
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 4 tablespoons granulated sugar Note 3

To thicken the sauce (when cooking):

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

  • In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients.
  • Give the ingredients a good whisk until the sugar is dissolved, and the ingredients are well incorporated.
  • To use the sauce, whisk well (if stored in a jar, shake very well) as the cornstarch usually sits at the bottom. And cook in skillet until it thickens, then toss with the prepared chicken.

Notes:

  1. Rice vinegar can be substituted with white distilled vinegar.
  2. Hoisin sauce can be substituted with oyster sauce.
  3. Sugar can be substituted with honey or agave syrup.
  4. After whisking the ingredients, you will get a smooth sauce but the sesame oil will keep separating and that’s totally normal.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 358kcal, Carbohydrates: 69g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 4548mg, Potassium: 191mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 46g, Calcium: 25mg, Iron: 2mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Little Sunny Kitchen

Did You Make This?I love to see what you made! Tag me @LittleSunnyKitchen and hashtag #LittleSunnyKitchen
Pin Recipe Tag on Insta Leave Review

You may also like...

  • Instant Pot General Tso's Chicken
  • Instant Pot Hibachi Chicken
  • Instant Pot chicken Alfredo pasta
    Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta
  • Easy Instant Pot Wings Recipe
Previous Post
Bruschetta With Tomato and Basil
Next Post
Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review! Cancel reply

Have a question or just want to say how much you loved the recipe? Leave a rating below, save for later on Pinterest, and share on Facebook. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe!




  1. Ed Kelly says

    Posted on 8/20/21 at 05:54

    Uhhh. . . . So I saw the 4 bottles of listed ingredients at the top.
    But I did NOT see the Garlic or Ginger listed. Those and several other things are not listed.
    Kinda tough to understand. . . .

    Reply
  2. Diana says

    Posted on 1/9/21 at 18:50

    Hi there, this recipe doesn’t require to be cooked in a sauce pan?

    Reply
    • Diana says

      Posted on 1/14/21 at 10:34

      Hi Diana, yes you cook it in a pan and then toss the chicken in the thickened sauce. Enjoy!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Meet Diana

Welcome to Little Sunny Kitchen! I'm Diana and I’m here to teach you how to make easy meals that are quick, family-friendly, and delicious!

Read More
Follow on Pinterest for more ideas!
Free ebook!

Download My Free Dinner eBook!


Get my copy!

Free eBook

Download My Free Dinner eBook!

Dinner Tonight

Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry in a skillet

Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry

Garlic Butter Chicken Tenders

Holding a Chick-Fil-A homemade Sandwich, and waffle fries

Homemade Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich

Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Most Popular

Chocolate Macarons

Penne Arrabbiata

French Fry Seasoning

Alfredo Sauce Recipe

Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders

Chicken Caesar Wrap

Instant Pot Air Fryer Crockpot Easy Dinners Salads Grilling
Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window

As Featured On:

Dinner tonight
Free ebook!

Download My Free Dinner eBook!

Join us and receive new recipes every week! Download our FREE eBook with quick and easy dinner recipes that are family-friendly and delicious.

Back to Top

explore

Recipe Index

Videos

Shop

Cooking Guides

Follow Along on Social:

Join My Free Instant Pot & Air Fryer Facebook Group
Back to Top

About

Contact

Privacy Policy

Accessibility

© 2022 Little Sunny Kitchen
|
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled