General Tso’s Chicken Sandwich with Broccoli Slaw

Year six ends. March 2022. The grill awakens. The dream is real. The savings account has seventeen thousand dollars. Jerome and I are planning. The storefront on Livernois is waiting. Mama knows. Dad knows. The kids know. Zaria wished for it on her birthday cake. Aiden drew the menu. Marc promised to work there. The family is the restaurant and the restaurant is the family, and somewhere in the next few years — in a small storefront on Livernois-McNichols, thirty seats, smelling like hickory smoke and onion gravy — Carter's Kitchen will open its door and the food that caught me when everything else let go will catch other people too. That is the dream. That is the plan. That is the food. That is Carter's Kitchen.

When you’ve spent six years holding a dream together with savings accounts and birthday wishes and hand-drawn menus from a seven-year-old, the food you cook on a Saturday has to mean something — and this General Tso’s Chicken Sandwich is exactly that kind of food. It’s bold and unapologetic, the kind of dish that stops a conversation mid-sentence, which is exactly what Carter’s Kitchen is meant to do the moment someone walks through that door on Livernois. I made this the weekend Jerome and I spread the blueprints across the kitchen table, and it felt like a preview of everything we’re building toward — something crunchy, saucy, and impossible to forget.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6 oz each)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and black pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying
4 brioche sandwich buns, toasted
General Tso’s Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sriracha
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Broccoli Slaw:
2 cups broccoli slaw mix
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. Place chicken thighs in a bowl with buttermilk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a few cracks of black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight for best flavor.
Make the broccoli slaw. In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper. Toss with the broccoli slaw mix until fully coated. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Prepare the dredge. In a shallow dish, whisk together flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
Dredge the chicken. Remove each thigh from the buttermilk, letting the excess drip off, then press firmly into the flour mixture, coating all sides. Set on a wire rack and let rest 5 minutes so the coating adheres.
Fry the chicken. Heat about 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet or heavy pot to 350°F. Fry chicken thighs 5–6 minutes per side until deep golden brown and cooked through to an internal temperature of 165°F. Transfer to a clean wire rack to drain.
Make the General Tso’s sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine soy sauce, hoisin, rice vinegar, honey, sriracha, garlic, and ginger. Stir and bring to a simmer. Add the cornstarch slurry and cook, stirring, for 1–2 minutes until the sauce thickens to a glossy glaze. Remove from heat.
Glaze the chicken. Brush or spoon the General Tso’s sauce generously over each fried chicken thigh, coating all sides.
Assemble the sandwiches. Place a glazed chicken thigh on the bottom of each toasted brioche bun. Top with a generous heap of broccoli slaw and close with the top bun. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

General Tso’s Chicken Sandwich with Broccoli Slaw — The Flavor That Started the Dream