I had been reluctant to try orange chicken until these last few years of my life. I assumed it tasted like Peking spareribs, tangier than sweet. It’s not a flavor I enjoy in savory foods and luckily, I didn’t have to eat much of it growing up other than the occasional order when my family dined at a Chinese restaurant.
But there has to be something about orange chicken if the widely popular Chinese fast food chain, Panda Express, serves wokloads of it, right? And once I finally gave orange chicken a shot, I never looked back. I order it practically every time I visit. It’s sweeter than tangy. And who doesn’t like fried chicken? It goes to show that most things are worth a try. Orange chicken has opened my eyes! Where would I be if orange chicken wasn’t in my life?!
When making this at home, I like orange playing a bigger role in the sauce so I suggest adding a little bit of finely chopped orange peel to it. Plus, I spike up the heat level a notch with the help of some sambal oelek. Enjoy!
If you like this Orange Chicken recipe, give this a try:
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Orange Chicken
- Yield: 3 served with sides 1x
- Category: Mains
- Method: Pan Fry
- Cuisine: American Chinese
Description
When making this at home, I like orange playing a bigger role in the sauce so I suggest adding a little bit of finely chopped orange peel to it. Plus, I spike up the heat level a notch with the help of some sambal oelek. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 2 egg whites
- 5 tablespoons of potato starch
- Neutral-flavored cooking oil
- Sesame seeds (optional)
AROMATICS
- 1-inch knob of ginger, grated
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed through a garlic press
- 2 sprigs of green onions, green parts chopped into 2-inch long pieces, white parts minced, greens and whites separated
- 1 teaspoon of orange peel (not pith), super finely chopped
SAUCE
- 1 cup of store-bought orange juice
- 1/3 cup of distilled white vinegar
- 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup of light soy sauce
- 3/4 tablespoon of sambal oelek, or more to your preferred heat level
- ½ teaspoon of MSG (optional)
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the pieces in a large bowl and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Create the sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients in another large bowl.
- Coat the chicken with the egg whites. Transfer the chicken into a large Ziplock bag. Add the potato starch into the bag, seal it, and swish it around to coat all the pieces in the starch.
- Cook the chicken. Preheat a thick-bottomed pan over high heat.‡ Add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil into the pan. Gently transfer the chicken pieces from the Ziplock bag into the pan◊ (warning: oil splattering very likely). The chicken pieces are probably sticking to each other. Separate them (I like using tongs with my left hand and chopsticks with my right) and turn them every minute for 5 minutes to prevent burning. Dish up and set aside.
- Put it all together. Turn down the heat to medium. Add 1 more tablespoon of cooking oil into the pan. Add all of the aromatics (except for the green parts of the green onions) and sauté until fragrant.
- Give your sauce a mix before adding it into the pan. Increase the heat to bring the sauce to a boil and stir it constantly until it reduces to your preferred level of syrup-like thickness. Turn off the heat and add the chicken and green parts of the green onions into the sauce. Toss until combined and then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately, it’s great with rice and veggies!
Notes
- ‡If you are not using a thick-bottomed pan, cook on medium-high heat for a minute or two longer.
- ◊Don’t crowd the chicken in the pan. Cook a second batch if necessary.
