Air Fryer Chinese Chicken

This Air Fryer Chinese Chicken has all the flavor of General Tso’s takeout without the bad for you factor – no MSG, less fat – but still so tasty.

Our Chinese Chicken tastes just like takeout General Tso’s chicken and it’s made in the air fryer (less grease!) Want a variation without the air fryer? Try our Garlic Chinese Chicken recipe instead.

How To Make Air Fryer Chinese Chicken

It all starts with boneless chicken thighs that you bread by dipping it in beaten egg then cornstarch. After that, the chicken is cooked in the air fryer to give it that signature crispiness. If you don’t have an air fryer we recommend ordering one right now because we have so many amazing air fryer chicken recipes for you!

Put your chicken pieces in the air fryer, just over the crisper, and lightly coat each piece with cooking spray. If you prefer to use your favorite oil instead of cooking spray you can totally do that with an oil sprayer like this one. Then set the air fryer to cook for fifteen minutes at 400°F. Shake the basket after 5 minutes of cooking so your chicken will not stick to the crisper.

Making Easy General Tso’s Sauce

To make the sauce super flavorful make sure you use fresh ginger and garlic clove. It makes a huge difference to use them fresh. The sauce will be more flavorful. The thing that really makes this dish crave worthy is adding soy sauce and rice vinegar. These ingredients paired with brown sugar give this dish the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and sour.

When the chicken is done, just toss it in the sauce and cook for one more minute. Serve over cooked brown or white rice. Then garnish it with sesame seeds or chopped green onions.

Air Fryer Chinese Chicken Recipe

Contributor: Ilona Orzechowska

This Air Fryer Chinese Chicken has all the flavor of General Tso’s takeout without the bad for you factor – no MSG, less fat – but still so tasty.

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4 from 1 review

• Author: Ilona Orzechowska
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 3 servings 1x
• Category: Entrée
• Method: Air Fryer
• Cuisine: Chinese

Print Recipe

Ingredients

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• 8 boneless chicken thighs
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp. salt
• Cooking oil spray
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 Tbsp. less sodium soy sauce
• 2 and 1/2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 4 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/4 tsp. minced fresh ginger
• 1 pressed garlic clove
• 1 Tbsp. green onions

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Instructions

1. Cut chicken thighs into chunks.
2. In a small bowl whisk the egg.
3. In another bowl mix cornstarch with salt.
4. Dip each chunk of chicken into egg and then cornstarch.
5. Spray the bottom of the basket and crisper of the air fryer with cooking spray.
6. Add chicken chunks, leaving some space between the pieces. You will need to cook the chicken in several batches. It depends on the brand of the air fryer but it will cook in about 2 – 4 batches.
7. Spray the chicken with cooking oil spray. Set the air fryer to cook at 400°F for 15 minutes. After 5 minutes of cooking, shake the basket. Cook for the remaining 10 minutes. If the chicken is not done after 15 minutes, add about 2 – 3 minutes more.
8. To prepare the sauce mix water, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, brown sugar, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Set aside.
9. Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan.
10. Add ginger and garlic. Cook on low heat for about 30 seconds, being careful not to burn it.
11. Add the sauce mixture. Cook on low/medium heat for about 5 – 8 minutes until the sauce thickens whisking often.
12. Add chicken to the sauce, toss it and cook for about 1 – 2 minutes until the chicken is nicely coated with the sauce.

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