General Tso Shrimp

What’s To Love About This Recipe

• Homemade General Tso shrimp is so quick and easy to make that you’ll never want to order take out.
• Shrimp are not battered or breaded for this healthier General Tso version. They are quickly sautéed instead of frying or deep frying.
• The whole dish takes just ten minutes and cooks in just one pan.
• This delicious dish is so flavorful. The General Tso sauce is tangy, sweet and spicy.
• Making General Tso shrimp yourself means that you control the amount of sugar, sodium and there’s no MSG.
• This recipe is gluten free if you use tamari or gluten free soy sauce.

Ingredient Notes

For the Sauce

• Vegetable stock You can also use chicken stock. I like to use a low sodium vegetable stock because the soy sauce addition will still result in a pleasantly salty sauce.
• Soy sauce If you want this recipe to be gluten free, use tamari, or a gluten free soy sauce.
• Rice vinegar This vinegar is a must have if you like to cook Asian dishes and stir fries. It’s also called rice wine vinegar. Look for regular rice vinegar and not the seasoned version which contains added sugar and salt.
• Chili Sauce My favorite for this General Tso’s sauce is Sambal Oelek. It’s an Indonesian chili paste that works well in Asian cooking. However, you can use Sriracha, or any other chili sauce.
• Brown Sugar The sugar adds the signature touch of sweetness that we expect in General Tso shrimp.
• Cornstarch Cornstarch is used to make the sauce thick and glossy. You may know this as corn flour, depending on where in the world you live.

For the Shrimp

• Shrimp Buy jumbo shrimp that are peeled, deveined and tails removed. You can use fresh or frozen (and defrosted) shrimp.
• Oil For frying the shrimp. Use vegetable oil or any other neutral oil. Also included in this recipe is sesame oil, which adds another perfect flavor element.
• Garlic and Ginger Mince it yourself or use jarred, pre minced garlic and ginger.
• Scallions (Green onions) This General Tso Shrimp recipe includes both the white and green parts of the scallion.

How To Make General Tso Shrimp

Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Put all the sauce ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake well to combine. (Or whisk together in a small bowl.
2. Heat the vegetable and sesame oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, about one minute.

3. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer the shrimp to a plate.
4. Give the sauce ingredients one more shake or whisk and add to the pan

5. Cook the sauce until it thickens and turns glossy.
6. Add the shrimp and scallions to the sauce and stir to coat.

Helpful Tips

• If you prefer more of a spicy sauce, use more chili sauce, or you can add some red pepper flakes.
• Pat shrimp dry with paper towels before cooking. This is so they will sauté, rather than steam.
• Shrimp cook very quickly. Be careful not to overcook them or they will be rubbery.
• The shrimp are cooked when they turn pink and opaque. They will curl up tightly into a “C” shape.
• Once the shrimp are cooked, remove them to a plate while you thicken the sauce, to prevent over cooking.
• After removing the shrimp from the pan, use paper towel to wipe the pan clean of any excess oil before adding the sauce ingredients.