General Tso’s Chicken Skewers with Coconut Rice

This General Tso’s Chicken Skewers with coconut rice is a great weeknight dinner made with shortcuts. Frozen General Tso’s Chicken is skewered, air fried, and tossed in a premade sauce! This chicken is served over a quick coconut rice and topped with a flavorful cucumber salad and chopped peanuts.

If you like this easy air fryer chicken dinner, try this Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken or Air Fryer Orange Chicken! Find all of my easy Air Fryer Recipes here for recipe inspiration!

For busy weeknights it can be great to pair grocery store shortcuts, like this frozen General Tso’s chicken, with fresh flavors. Coconut rice is super easy to make and can elevate your dish, simply combine a can of coconut milk and rinsed Jasmine rice. A cucumber salad is always a win in my book, it utilizes fresh ingredients with simple pantry ingredients for a punch of flavor.

Highlights Of This Chicken Recipe

• Shortcut recipe: this flavorful dish uses frozen pre-cooked chicken and combines it with fresh steamed rice and a simple cucumber salad that can easily be customized. Use any type of frozen chicken, there are several types in the Asian aisle to choose from.
• Family favorite: kids and adults will love this dish, the saucy chicken skewers are fun to eat and make dinner time more fun! The cucumber salad can be made less spicy or substitute with steamed broccoli for picky eaters.
• Loaded with flavor: not only is the chicken flavorful from the premade General Tso’s sauce, but the rice gets a subtle nutty, coconut flavor. Pair that with a cucumber salad loaded with fresh mint, cilantro, chili oil, soy, and rice vinegar, and you’ve got a flavor packed meal!
• Air fryer option: there is no need to turn on the oven for this easy dinner, skewer the frozen chicken and toss in the air fryer to get nice and crispy. This makes clean up easy as well.

Ingredient List & Substitutions

This dish is made with simple ingredients, many of which can easily be substituted based on what you have on hand. See below for any ingredient substitutions:

• Chicken: this recipe uses frozen breaded General Tso’s chicken, found in the Asian section. Any type of frozen breaded chicken will work such as popcorn chicken or flavored boneless wings. Or make homemade chicken bites.
• Long grain rice: like Jasmine or Basmati rice, this method may not work as well with other types of rice like brown rice.
• Coconut milk: a can of full fat coconut milk adds subtle flavor to your rice. If desired, omit the coconut milk and use water.
• Mini cucumbers: I love using mini cucumbers, they are always so fresh and crunchy and I like the mild skin. Any cucumber will work, like hothouse, English, or Armenian cucumbers.
• Fresh herbs: cilantro and mint give this salad great flavor and add extra freshness. I also add in a thinly sliced green onion.
• Sesame oil: this adds a nice nutty flavor to the cucumber salad and creates a bit of a dressing. Substitute olive or avocado oil.
• Chili oil: chili crunch or chili oil adds a beautiful color as well as some texture and spice to the cucumbers. Leave this out if you prefer less spice. This can be store-bought or homemade.
• Soy sauce: substitute coconut aminos or tamari for a gluten-free or soy-free option.
• Rice vinegar: this is optional but does add good flavor to the cucumber salad. Also called rice wine vinegar or mirin.
• Sesame seeds: add as many as you like! I love sesame seeds and tend to go overboard, so use at your own discretion – these make a great garish.
• Peanuts: I like these to garnish my rice bowls chopped peanuts, almonds or cashews will also work.

How to Make The Air Fryer Chicken

Let’s talk a little about how to make these General Tso’s Chicken Skewers with Coconut Rice & Cucumber Salad (The printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)

Quick overview:

• Microwave the frozen chicken for a few seconds to soften.
• Skewer chicken and add to preheated air fryer.
• Combine rice and coconut milk, cook until rice is fluffy.
• Prepare the cucumber salad.
• Toss cooked chicken in sauce and assemble bowls.

1. Firstly, put the frozen chicken in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 45-60 seconds to soften it a bit, this helps with skewering the chicken. Skewer the chicken on metal or wooden skewers. If using wooden skewers, soak them for about 30 minutes in water so they don’t burn.
2. Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees, once warm, add in the chicken skewers. Air fry for 14-16 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove chicken from the air fryer and coat in the premade General Tso’s sauce.

3. Thirdly, for the coconut rice, combine coconut milk and rinsed rice in a large saucepan. Stir to combine and bring to a boil over medium-heat. Cover and simmer over medium-heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, keep covered and let sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and fluff with a fork.

4. Fourthly, in a mixing bowl combine cucumbers, herbs, green onion, soy, rice vinegar, chili oil, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Stir to combine.

5. Finally, add coconut rice to a bowl, top with a few chicken skewers and some cucumber salad. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and sesame seeds, enjoy!

More Family Favorite Chicken Recipes

If you like these flavor packed chicken rice bowls, try my other Chicken Recipes for more easy weeknight meals the whole family will love!

• Copycat Panda Express Air Fryer Orange Chicken – hand breaded chicken air fried until crispy with a homemade orange sauce!
• Spicy Chopped Thai Chicken Salad (Panera Inspired) – a light and refreshing salad loaded with all the toppings.
• Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken Recipe – crispy chicken in the air fryer with a homemade teriyaki sauce.

Tools I Use for This Air Fryer Recipe

• Rubber Spatula – a must have! I like these because they don’t come apart so I don’t have to worry about water getting inside the spatula and causing mold.
• Instant 6 qt. Air Fryer – Sleek and functional, the perfect size for 2-3 people. I like this because it has a tray in the bottom which make cleaning easy and it allows for air to circulate evenly. It has a large tray so you don’t have to do so many batches and a window to see into the air fryer while cooking! Any brand of air fryer will work for this recipe.
• Pyrex Mixing Bowl Set – I love this set of nesting bowls. I use them for everything, Pyrex glass does not break easily so you can trust on these bowls for years, plus they come in 3 useful sizes and can be stacked!
• Small Metal Skewers: I love these small skewers as they are reusable and do not burn like wooden skewers. These are the perfect size, they are big enough to hold the right amount but not so large that they are hard to store, the fit in the air fryer with no problem.

Storage

These General Tso’s Chicken Skewers with Coconut Rice & Cucumber Salad can be stored easily for leftovers. Allow chicken skewers to cool completely and transfer to an airtight container, you can remove from the skewers or leave skewered. I recommend removing the skewers so chicken can be easily reheated in the microwave if needed. Store in the fridge for 2-3 days.

The coconut rice can be stored in a separate airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days as well. Cucumber salad does not store well for more than a day or two, the cucumbers will start to get soggy.

Recipe FAQs

What is in General Tso’s Chicken?

General Tso’s chicken is a American-Chinese dish that is made of fried chicken tossed in an sticky sauce made of garlic, sugar, soy sauce, and chiles.

Can you put skewers in the air fryer?

Yes. Wood or metal skewers can be used in the air fryer, as long as they will reasonably fit. If using wood skewers in the air fryer, let them soak in water for 25-30 minutes before cooking so they do not burn. Any metal skewer can be used as long as it doesn’t a rubber or silicone handle.

What does coconut rice taste like?

Coconut rice has a subtle nutty, coconut flavor. It is not over powering but adds the perfect extra little bit of flavor, it reminds me of toasted coconut.

Can you put a metal in the air fryer?

Yes. You can use metal in the air fryer, stainless steel skewers, pots, and pans are all safe to use in an air fryer so long as any additional parts, such as the handles, are not made of materials that could melt like plastic. Air fryers do not cook the same way as microwaves making them safe for metal.