I was looking for ideas for dinner when I spotted a recipe for General Tso’s Chicken Nuggets. It sounded interesting, but I wasn’t interested in deep frying chicken nuggets. Or deep frying anything, for that matter.

But I had chicken and veggies for a stir fry, so instead of my usual sauce (which is made up on the spot each time), I used the sauce in the recipe.

Lorraine told me to save the recipe — she wants me to make it again!

General Tso Stirfry

• 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs, cleaned, cut in strips
• 8 oz can sliced water chestnuts
• 8 oz can sliced bamboo shoots
• 15 oz can baby corn, cut in bite-sized pieces
• 1 colored bell pepper, seeded, cut in bite-sized chunks
• oil

SAUCE:

• 1⁄4 cup soy sauce
• 1⁄4 cup rice vinegar
• 1⁄4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1⁄2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1⁄3 cup water
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a wok over high heat. Chow the chicken in batches, adding an additional Tbsp oil as needed. As each batch cooks through, remove it to a large bowl and keep warm.

Add 1 Tbsp oil to the wok and stir fry the vegetables for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup water and steam, stirring frequently, until the water is mostly evaporated.

While the above is cooking, stir the sauce ingredients together in a large measuring cup.

When the vegetables are crisp-tender, remove to the bowl with the chicken.

Pour the sauce into the wok and cook 2 minutes, stirring, or until thick. Add the chicken and vegetables back to the wok and stir to mix. Remove from heat and serve.

Notes:

Lorraine doesn’t care for spicy, so I added only 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes.

I was out of hoisin sauce, so I substituted oyster sauce.

There wasn’t as much sauce as we like, so next time I will add an additional 3/4 to 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock and 1 additional tablespoon of cornstarch. White wine or sake can be used.

This recipe will work fine with any desired vegetables, and boneless chicken breast, boneless pork, or boneless beef can be used instead of chicken thighs. I may try it with shrimp and/or scallops.