We all are fond of chicken and eight billion chickens are consumed every year. That being said, there are hundreds of delicious chicken recipes, and out of them, sesame chicken vs. general tso’s chicken is the prime debate. If you find yourself considering which is the best one, we are sharing the differences between both these recipes, so you can make a decision yourself!
Sesame Chicken vs General Tso
Sesame Chicken
Sesame chicken is an extremely common dish famous in Chinese restaurants. To be honest, it’s available in the Chinese restaurants of the United States and has various similarities to general tso’s chicken. However, sesame chicken tends to have a sweeter flavor rather than spicy. This recipe includes the thigh piece of chicken (others are used as well but aren’t recommended by the culinary experts). The chicken is de-boned and marinated in batter before it’s deep-fried.
Once the frying part is done, sesame chicken is dressed with the sweet sauce that’s made from sake, vinegar, corn starch, sugar, and chicken broth. The sauce has a reddish-brown yet translucent color and has a semi-thick consistency. The contents of the sauce add a sweet flavor. After adding the sauce, small sesame seeds are garnished (some people use toasted sesame seeds but untoasted are fine as well). In addition, it can be served with baby corn or broccoli but it’s still not necessary.
There are different variations of sesame chicken such as sesame shrimp. As the name suggests, people marinate and deep-fry shrimps rather than chicken. However, the heating temperature and length of cooking are reduced with shrimp sesame because shrimps need less cooking. In addition, some people add chopped almonds on the top rather than sesame seeds but we think that it takes away from the concept.
With sesame chicken, the chicken pieces are extremely crispy which adds to the overall experience. If you are concerned about cooking, it’s pretty easy to cook because you will already have the ingredients at home. For instance, the ingredients include ginger root, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic cloves, honey, and rice vinegar (don’t we all have these ingredients in the pantry?). As far as serving is concerned, it’s consumed as an appetizer, finger food, or entrée and it’s eaten without utilizing the utensils.
If we look at the nutritional point of view, it has ample protein that’s suggested for an average person for a day. In addition, with the inculcation of veggies, you will consume various vitamins as well. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that sesame chicken is healthy and delicious, isn’t that everyone’s dream? The majority of people don’t understand that the unique sesame flavor is enhanced by the addition of sesame oil in the sauce.
We do want to add that some people add ketchup to the sauce for enhancing the sweetness, so if you like your sesame chicken extra sweet, you know that ketchup is the answer. It has a smooth yet crispy texture but the flavor is amped by topping the sauce (the sauce is sweet due to the addition of honey). Also, the sauce has a very sticky consistency due to the sweet ingredients, such as sugar and honey.
General Tso’s Chicken
This is a Chinese dish with a spicy and sweet flavor. It is basically deep-fried chicken that’s widely consumed in the Chinese restaurants of North America. General Tso’s chicken gets its name from Zuo Zongtang who was the military leader and a dynasty statesman. To be honest, the dish isn’t even consumed in his province “Hunan” but that’s what history says. Not to forget, this recipe is known by different names, such as General Tao Chicken, General Mao Chicken, General Gao Chicken, and more.
As far as the origination is concerned, it’s said that the recipe was invented by Peng Chang-Kuei, who is the Hunan cuisine chef based in Taiwan. However, let us tell you that the first restaurant that offered this recipe had to be closed down because the residents found the dish too sweet for them. For this reason, some people started making this recipe in a stir-fry form and the temperature and flavor would be flaming hot. So, it’s safe to say that sweet and spicy flavors are a combination of two recipes.
As far as the ingredients are concerned, the batter is made with cornstarch and egg while the dish is served with broccoli. As for the sauce, it’s made by mixing garlic, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, rice wine, sugar, red chili pepper, and cornstarch. There is a Taiwanese variation of General Tso’s chicken but that’s not sweet and soy sauce adds the prominent flavor. In addition, the chicken is generally cooked without removing the skin.
When it comes down to cooking, the chicken is first deep-fired and then stir-fried with the vegetables. The vegetables include bell peppers and onions, and some people serve them with broccoli. In addition to broccoli, it’s served with fried noodles, such as lomein noodles or chowmein noodles but some people also serve them with white rice (steamed). The sugar content in this recipe is high which makes it fat-rich and isn’t a suitable option for health-conscious people.
General tso’s chicken has been around since the 1800s and is consumed all around the globe for its amazing yet unique flavor. It is easily available in restaurants but making it at home is equally convenient. The chicken is coated with the batter before frying and the entire flavor comes from the thick red sauce that’s tossed on the fried chicken. These two recipes are often confused with each but the ingredients and sauces are pretty different (the taste is unique as well).
Some people are known to add sesame oil to the sauce but it’s not the right thing to do because it can take away from the real flavor of General Tso’s chicken. This recipe boasts five different flavors comings from salt, ginger, spices, garlic, and a tangy sauce. The overall texture is pretty crispy and the chicken is then coated with a savory sauce.