Orange Chicken is a Chinese-inspired dish made with breaded fried chicken in orange sauce. With this easy recipe, make your own restaurant-quality version!
If you like fruit-based savory dishes like this one, check out my other recipes like the Slow Cooker Pineapple Ham, Apple Cinnamon Pork Chops, and Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken.
Asian Orange Chicken
Orange Chicken makes for one easy weeknight dinner! All you have to do is fry the chicken and glaze it with a refreshing orange sauce. It is this simple!
We are using chicken breasts which easily dry out if not cooked properly. But this recipe solves this problem. With the addition of the sauce, the tender meat will always be moist!
The sauce makes all the difference. It has a citrusy flavor further sweetened by adding sugar. Hence, this will surely be a hit with the kids!
An even more compelling reason to make this on your own is that you can save money. You will also be able to tweak the recipe according to your preference. Why buy from Panda Express when you can make your own at home?
What is Chinese orange chicken?
It is a sweet and savory dish made with breaded chicken in a thick sweet orange sauce. It is often compared with General Tso Chicken but this one is not as spicy.
This is not an authentic Chinese recipe. The authentic one makes use of dried tangerine peels. This dish evolved from that. It is the Chinese settlers in the US who invented this dish to suit the American palate.
When you think of this dish, you immediately think of Panda Express, too. It was this restaurant that popularized this dish.
And now, with this easy recipe, you can make it right in your own kitchen!
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How do you make Orange Chicken:
- Prepare the breading: In a bowl, mix flour and cornstarch. Season with salt and black pepper. In another bowl, beat two eggs.
- Prepare the oil: Heat up 2 inches of canola oil in a deep frying pan.
- Dredge the meat: Coat the chunks of white meat in the eggs first then into the cornstarch-flour mixture.
- Fry: Put the coated white meat in the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Work in batches.
- Toss: Pour in the sauce onto the cooked white meat and coat well.
- Serve: Garnish with orange zest and green onions, then, serve!
How do you make Baked Orange Chicken:
So, you cringe at the thought of deep-frying the meat. We’ve got you covered! All you need to do is follow our recipe for Oven Baked Chicken Tenders.
This recipe is for the replacement of the fried white meat in the original recipe. However, you might want to cut up the pieces into smaller chunks instead of strips.
Is Orange Chicken healthy?
One serving of this dish will set you back by 600 to 700 calories. Of this value, 40% is from carbohydrates; 45% from fat, and 15% from protein. It has notably high sodium content, too.
Because of this, it is recommended to eat this dish in moderation. The batter and sugar contribute to the carbs. To make this dish healthier, you may want to leave out the batter and instead of deep frying, stir fry the meat. Or, follow the baked recipe for the chicken to lessen the oil.
How to store:
- Refrigerator: Keep it in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezer: You can keep it frozen for 4 months. To reheat, simply thaw it in the refrigerator overnight then, heat in the oven.
Recipe Tips:
- This is best served over steamed rice or quinoa. You may also garnish with sesame seeds.
- You can add fiber to this dish by adding veggies like broccoli, green beans, or snow peas.
- Also, do not let the meat sit the sauce for too long to prevent it from getting soggy. You can store the meat and sauce separately, too, and then combine when reheating.
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Total time: 30 mins
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (cut into 1-inch chunks)
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- Canola oil for frying
Orange Sauce:
- 1 cup Orange Juice
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger (minced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 orange zested
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Garnish:
- Green onions (chopped)
- Orange zest
Instructions
Chicken:
- In a large, shallow bowl, whisk cornstarch flour, salt, and black pepper.
- Add beaten eggs to another bowl.
- Pour about 2 inches of canola oil into a deep frying pan and heat it over medium-high heat.
- Dip the chicken pieces into the beaten eggs.
- Add the chicken chunks to the cornstarch mixture and toss until well coated. Work in batches.
- Cook it in batches in the hot oil until golden and crispy.
- Remove to a plate and set aside.
Orange Sauce:
- To the same pan add orange juice, white and brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes. Heat for 3 minutes over medium heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to form a paste.
- Add the paste to orange sauce and whisk together. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Once the sauce is thickened, reduce the flame to low and stir in orange zest.
- Add chicken back to the pan and toss with orange sauce. You may reserve some of the sauce to drizzle on rice.
- Serve it with a sprinkling of green onions and orange zest.
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