By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 4, 2026
Serves 4
297 cal · 10 min
Popeye's General Tso's Chicken
Recipe GLPRa1cca8235f62df
A quick Asian-inspired dish featuring Popeye's chicken nuggets tossed in a savory-sweet and slightly spicy General Tso-style sauce. The sauce combines soy, hoisin, vinegar, and chili paste with fresh garlic and ginger, finished with a glossy cornstarch coating and nutty sesame oil. Ready in minutes, this fusion dish brings restaurant flavors to your table using a beloved fast-casual favorite as the protein base.
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Ingredients
¼ cup Low sodium chicken stock
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 tablespoon Rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese chili paste
2 teaspoons Sesame oil
3 tablespoons Sugar
2 teaspoons Cornstarch
2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Fresh ginger, minced
6 Dried whole red chilis
21 pieces Popeye's Chicken Nuggets
3 Scallion greens, sliced
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the chicken stock, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, hoisin sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, and sugar. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is well combined.
In another small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water to create a slurry.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Add the minced garlic, ginger, and whole dried red chilis to the hot oil. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the Popeye's Chicken Nuggets to the skillet and toss to coat with the oil and aromatics, cooking for 1 to 2 minutes.
Pour the sauce mixture into the skillet and bring to a gentle simmer.
Stir the cornstarch slurry to recombine, then pour it into the simmering sauce while stirring constantly. Continue stirring for 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce thickens and coats the chicken nuggets evenly.
Remove from heat and stir in the sliced scallion greens. Serve immediately over rice or noodles.
Comments
The 10-minute claim ignores the sauce-making steps; realistically this runs 18–20 minutes with no prior prep. More seriously, dried red chilis, hoisin, chili paste, and sesame oil require a special trip to ALDI or Harris Teeter's international aisle—those are not standard at Food Lion or Walmart in Charlotte. At roughly $2.50–3.00 per serving, the specialty Asian ingredients push cost up for a dish that ultimately leans on frozen nuggets as its protein base. This works as a quick weeknight shortcut if you stock those pantry items already, but the first time you make it you're budgeting an extra errand and real shelf time for the sauce components.
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