Day 20 of Movement Control Order 2.0
28 November 2020
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
- Alfred Tennyson
Whilst preparing the lesson on Lord Alfred Tennyson’s famous poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade” for my Form 4 class the other day, I suddenly recalled a recipe that I’d seen on the Internet. Some may be shaking their heads incredulously and wondering what the link is between a grim poem about war and cooking. Well, it’s because the dish is called General Tso’s Chicken.
General Tso’s Chicken is essentially an American Chinese dish that's probably unheard of by most in Malaysia. It appears to be very popular in America as almost all American Chinese food bloggers feature this recipe. But who is General Tso? Tso Tsung-tang (左宗棠) was a war hero in China's greatest civil war in the 19th century. And that's how I thought of this dish, General Tso's Chicken, when I was supposedly focused on Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade".
When I decided to cook this dish today, I looked through several versions on the Internet, but it was Marion Grasby's unique interpretation of it that beat them all, hands down. She calls it an Adults Only version of General Tso's Chicken and that, naturally, aroused my interest. 
Adults Only General Tso's Chicken
The diced chicken fillet is lovingly marinated with light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, lightly whisked egg white, baking soda and vodka (yes, you read that right, and it was the first ingredient that turned me on). The meat is later coated with a mixture of plain flour and cornflour to form a thick crust around the chicken before it is deep fried. After that, garlic, ginger strips and dried chillies are given a quick toss in a lightly-oiled pan. The sauce concoction of chicken stock, light soya sauce, sugar, cornflour, Shaoxing wine and black vinegar (that's the other ingredient that made me choose Marion's recipe over others') is then poured into the pan. After it has thickened considerably, the chicken pieces are added and given a good toss, and spring onion is thrown in just after the fire has been turned off.
Once again, Marion Grasby has endeared herself to me for sharing another delightful recipe. I could see hubby enjoyed tonight's Adults Only General Tso's Chicken very much. Even after his rice had been finished, he was still happily popping in the chicken. Before I could even reach out for the last piece, it had disappeared!
Our other dish for tonight, hubby's favourite Tofu Prawn Soup
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