Name: Exactly How To Reheat General Tso Chicken
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 7 min
Ingredients: 1 portion General Tso Chicken

Table of Contents

When it comes to Chinese food, I think we can all agree that General Tso chicken is right up there with the best.

But what do you do if you have leftovers?

Can you reheat this chicken dish and keep its signature crunch?

Having wrestled with these questions myself not too long ago, I tried out three different ways to reheat General Tso chicken.

And I’m pleased to report that the results were great!

The best way to reheat General Tso chicken is to heat the chicken and glaze separately. Remove the chicken from the sauce and pat off the excess with a paper towel. Set your oven to 390°F (200°C) and reheat your chicken for 5-7 minutes. Reheat the glaze in the microwave for 30 seconds on full power.

A note on my experiment

I ordered a few portions of General Tso Chicken from my favorite Chinese restaurant.

Had some for dinner (of course) and then stored my leftovers overnight in the fridge for my reheating experiment.

I tried three different techniques the next day before settling on my favorite.

The reheating methods I tried included:

In the microwave AND air fryer/oven (best results overall)
In the oven (tasty, but the chicken lost its crunch)
In the microwave (worst method, would not recommend)

The best way to get General Tso chicken back to its former crunchy glory is to try and separate as much glaze from the chicken as possible.

You can even ask the restaurant to keep them apart for you in your takeaway.

Crisping your chicken in the air fryer while warming your sauce in the microwave will have your General Tso tasting freshly made.

The oven, on the other hand, doesn’t do much for this dish in terms of crunch. The broiler helps, but only to a certain degree.

I wouldn’t recommend using the microwave. While convenient, it will turn your General Tso chicken unappetizingly soggy.

Reheating General Tso chicken – the best way

The best way to reheat General Tso chicken is to heat the chicken and glaze separately. Remove the chicken from the sauce and pat off the excess with a paper towel. Set your oven to 390°F (200°C) and warm your chicken for 5-7 minutes. Zap the glaze in the microwave for 20-40 seconds on 100% power.

Reassemble the dish and serve.

A toaster oven is best for the chicken if you have one (and an air fryer is even better). But if you only have a conventional oven, consider broiling the chicken to get it extra crispy.

How to reheat General Tso chicken:

Remove your chicken pieces from their sauce/glaze (if not already separated).
Place the glaze in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with plastic wrap pierced with small holes.
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
Set your oven/toaster oven/air fryer to 390°F (200°C).
Spread your chicken pieces out and heat them until crispy. Once hot, let the chicken pieces rest for a minute.
On full power, microwave your glaze for 20-40 seconds.
Reassemble the dish and serve immediately.

Make sure not to cover your chicken pieces or overcrowd the air fryer.

The chicken needs direct heat to crisp up effectively.

Whichever heating method you select, make sure to rest your chicken for a moment after heating.

If you submerge it into sauce immediately, it may turn soggy, so let it settle first.

If you’re making General Tso chicken at home, store a little extra glaze separately to use for reheating later.

My verdict

This method far exceeded my expectations. I could hardly tell my General Tso chicken was reheated at all.

Even after being stored in its sauce, my chicken tasted crunchy and fresh.

This is a little more effort than the other methods I tried, but definitely worth it. You won’t get better results than this.

Reheating General Tso chicken in the oven

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Spread your chicken pieces out on a baking tray and cover it with foil. Heat your General Tso chicken for 10-15 minutes, removing the foil for the last 5 minutes of heating to crisp the batter. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

To crisp the chicken further, use the broiler function.

Timings will vary depending on the type of oven you’re using (toaster ovens will be faster).

How to reheat General Tso chicken in the oven:

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
Spread out your chicken pieces on a baking sheet.
Cover the baking sheet with foil.
Warm your chicken for 10-15 minutes, removing the foil for the last 5 minutes of heating.
Once hot, remove from the oven and serve immediately.

The chicken will be in the oven for quite a long time, so the foil helps prevent it from drying out.

But if you don’t remove it at the end, the batter will be soggy.

If you’re using the broiler method, make sure not to burn your chicken. Keep a close eye and check it at the halfway mark.

This method is convenient for reheating large quantities of General Tso chicken.

My verdict

This method retained all of the glaze’s spicy-sweet flavor.

But it didn’t restore much of the texture of the coating.

My chicken pieces were moist but a bit soggy.

Grilling the chicken pieces under the broiler was a good way to solve this, but they still weren’t as crispy as when I heated them separately from the sauce.

Reheating General Tso chicken in the microwave

Place your leftover General Tso chicken in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pierce it with a few small holes. Microwave your chicken on 100% power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between. Once piping hot, remove from the microwave and rest for a minute before serving.

Your dish is likely to get quite hot during this process, so be careful not to burn your hands when you lift it.

How to reheat General Tso chicken in the microwave:

Place your General Tso chicken in a microwave-safe bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pierce small holes in it.
Microwave your chicken in 30-second intervals, stirring during each break.
Once piping hot, remove from the microwave.
Allow the chicken to rest for a minute before serving.

By covering the bowl with plastic wrap, you lock in steam, ensuring even heating and keeping the chicken succulent.

However, this method does not allow for restoring any semblance of crunch.

If you have any rice or noodles, you can microwave these in the same bowl as the chicken.

My verdict

Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this method unless you’re in a huge hurry or don’t have any other choice.

This method makes the chicken taste dull, chewy, and overall, not great.

How to keep General Tso chicken crispy

Your best chance of keeping your chicken pieces crispy is to store the components separately. This will keep your chicken’s texture intact (not soggy) and make it easier to reheat later. Remove the chicken from the glaze and pat it dry with a paper towel.

When you’re ready to reheat your leftovers, you can reheat the chicken and the glaze separately.

Making General Tso chicken at home

If you’re cooking this delicious dish at home, double fry the chicken pieces to give them an extra crunchy coating and prevent them from soaking in too much of the glaze.

Keep your chicken pieces and sauce separately until just before you serve your meal.

Ordering General Tso chicken as take-out

Ask the take-out place where you buy your General Tso chicken to package your glaze and chicken pieces separately.

This will keep the chicken crunchy for longer, as you can add the sauce as you need it. You will also be able to store the components separately for reheating later.

How to store General Tso chicken

First, let your leftovers reach room temperature. Then, transfer them into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you can manage it, separate the glaze from the chicken, pat the chicken dry with paper towels, and store the components separately.

Can you freeze General Tso chicken?

You can freeze leftover General Tso chicken for up to 3 months. For best results, you should freeze the chicken and glaze components separately. After patting the chicken dry with paper towels, place the glaze and chicken pieces in separate zip-lock bags in the freezer.

How to freeze General Tso chicken:

Remove your chicken from its glaze and pat it dry with paper towels.
Optional: Flash-freeze your chicken pieces by spreading them out on a baking sheet and popping them in the freezer for 2-3 hours.
Transfer the chicken and sauce into separate freezer bags, removing excess air.*
Use within 3 months.

Flash freezing the chicken pieces means you can easily take out just a handful if that’s all you want.

Another tip is to freeze the glaze in an ice cube tray and then place the cubes in a freezer bag.

*Remove the excess air from your freezer bags by submerging them into water as you seal them shut (or use a vacuum sealer if you have one).

When you’re ready to thaw your General Tso chicken, place it in the fridge overnight to defrost.