Recipe review: making General Tso's Chickpeas

I came across this recipe on good ol' Pinterest, of all the places, and I thought it sounded genius.  We like General Tso's sauce in this household, but pouring it over a vat of fried chicken and the requisite three pieces of broccoli does tend to turn it into a gut bomb, in my humble opinion. I was most interested in the sauce, because I figured if I liked it, I could just add it to my rotation of veggie stir-fry sauces (which is all this recipe basically is, anyway).

It is a tasty sauce, though if you compare my version, below, to the original, you'll see I made mine a whole lot spicier and a bit less sweet.  For a milder version, you might want to try following the directions like a good kid at Yep, It's Vegan and test that one first.

General Tso's Chickpeas (based on Yep, It's Vegan's recipe)

Serves 4


For marinating the chickpeas:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin (I used sweet vermouth)
1 and 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (equal to 1 15-oz. can), rinsed and drained

For the sauce:
1/4 cup + 2  tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 tablespoon peanut butter
1  tablespoon soy sauce
1  tablespoon rice vinegar
1  tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons sriracha or other chili sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon. freshly ground black pepper 

For the General Tso's chickpeas stir-fry:
1  tablespoon neutral oil (I used canola)

1/4 of a large onion, thinly sliced
1 large broccoli crown, cut into florets

4 oz. mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 carrot, cut into thin slices on the bias
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
General Tso's sauce (above)
marinated chickpeas (above)
green onions and sesame seeds for serving
1 cup cooked rice, for serving


Stir together the soy sauce and mirin in a bowl and add the chickpeas. Let sit for at least 10 minutes.

Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion, stirring continuously. Continuing to stir, add the broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, ginger, and garlic.

Stir in the General Tso's sauce. Drain the chickpeas and stir them in too. Cook for 1-2 more minutes, continuing to stir frequently, or until the mixture is hot throughout and the sauce has coated the chickpeas and vegetables. Add more soy sauce or chili sauce to taste.

Serve over rice and garnish as desired with green onions and sesame seeds.