Hi Denise..welcome!

I imagine that the versions of the chicken dishes you are looking for were popularised in American Chinese eateries....I had never heard of General Tso's chicken till I googled it!
Orange chicken can be a variation of lemon chicken.

I would take 500g of thick slices of chicken breast or thigh meat, then marinate them with 1/2 tsp salt,1/2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp cornflour, ginger juice (grate 1 tbsp worth of ginger,mix with 1 tsp sherry then really squeeze the juice over) and 1/2 tsp sesame oil. Leave to meld for about an hour.
Then coat it with rice flour, beaten egg and another coatng of rice flour, deep fry in hot peanut oil till crisp and golden. Spread on paper towels in a single layer while you get on with the sauce.

To a dry pan, heat up 1 tbsp of oil and saute 1tsp sugar,some grated garlic and ginger, along with some sliced chillies for heat if you like,till lightly browned. Stir in the juice of 2 large oranges and 1 dried tangerine peel (which you have washed,from chinese medical stores)..failing which,just use the zest of an orange. Tip in some soy to taste and about 1/4 cup of thai sweet chilli. Boil till syrupy,discard the tangerine peel and toss the chicken pieces in it,serve immediately.

For general Tso's chicken, I would prepare the chicken in the same way,except the sauce is different.
Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and saute 1 tsp grated ginger,1 tsp grated garlic and 1/4 cup finely chopped spring onions with some szechuan chilli pepper,depending on how much you like. Add 3 tbsp of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of black vinegar,soy to taste and a big splash of sherry or chinese cooking wine and bubble away till syrupy,drizzle with a little sesame oil and taste. Toss the chicken in it and serve immediately. it should be a sweet,spicy,sour yet savoury sauce.

Ichiban is a japanese restaurant? What you enjoyed would most definitely be a miso soup.
Are there any decent asian stores in your area whereby you can get hold of some good white miso paste and dashi granules?

Hope this helps! 

Hiya Kris,

It was good although Stef kept sending copies of her new Recipea Book

Something needs to be done with that girl

I have a terrible confession to make guys...
I fried off some cubed Spam that day to render some fat and used it to make fried rice...stirred in the crisp Spam...Lord it was delicious...

AndyH wrote:

Hiya Kris,

It was good although Stef kept sending copies of her new Recipea Book

Something needs to be done with that girl

Hi Andy, lovely to 'see' you!  .....sorry, just read your post now, thanks! Glad you had a nice Easter!
  She's a busy gal our, Stef!!
I'm still waiting for you all to arrive in the Pea Mobile - any chance maybe next yr, for the Rugby World Cup in N.Z.?!!
Also,   Hi Stef, Frizz & All!

Last edited by Kiwi Kris (Thu 22 Apr 10 11:15am)

Im thinking that Stef is buried under an enormous amount of papers she is supposed to be grading....

Hope she is ok!