Easy homemade Chinese Orange Chicken with a burst of sweet orange flavor in every bite.
A night in with friends resulted in me attempting to make orange chicken. And everyone loved it. At first, I wasn’t sure if they truly loved it, or if the few cocktails prior to was to blame… But when they all called me the next day for the recipe, and kept talking about it later, I knew this Chinese Orange Chicken recipe was winner.
This impromptu gathering did not prepare me for the typical dinner I usually do for company. So it was a “let’s whip something up kind of meal”. Opening up the refrigerator, I then began my inventory… You’ve got onions? Check. You’ve got chicken? Check. You’ve got a ton of Christmas Church Oranges? Check. (You know…. Christmas Church Oranges… That’s the ton of oranges they put in the little gift bags they give out during Christmas at your church.) With these ingredients, and my never ending craving for Chinese food, I proceeding to make orange chicken.
The next step was picking a recipe. Do you know how many recipes are on the internet for orange chicken?!?!? I finally decided to just close my eyes and pick one. After picking a recipe, I made modifications based off what ingredients I had, and what I wanted my orange chicken to taste like.
Then, after making it a few times, I decided to go and grab some orange chicken take out and compare the similarities. This orange chicken recipe is the final product that I am satisfied with, that is similar to my local “hole in the wall” Chinese Restaurant. Sweet, full of orange flavor, and a little tang from the vinegar. I garnish it with green onion, and sesame seeds just to make it look pretty. But you don’t need to do all of that, just get straight to the point. Totally up to you 🙂
Try out my other stir fry recipes located here >>
Black Pepper Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
Red Thai Curry Stir Fried Chinese Noodles with Beef
Stir Fried Chinese Noodles with Shrimp
Chinese Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- Chicken:
- 2 large boneless chicken breast
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 egg
- Breading:
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Sauce:
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry or rice wine
- 5 tablespoons white vinegar
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 5 garlic pressed or finely chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- Additional Ingredients:
- Peanut Oil or Vegetable Oil
- Thinly sliced green onion (optional for garnish)
- Sesame Seeds (optional for garnish)
Instructions
- Place peanut oil or vegetable oil in deep fryer per your deep fryer instructions. Let the oil get hot, making sure the temperature reaches 350 degrees.
- While the oil gets hot, cut chicken into small chunks. Salt and pepper the chicken.
- Mix the egg and cornstarch together in a large bowl, then add the chicken to the egg mixture. Mix the mixture well, and let sit for about four minutes.
- While chicken sits, mix together the breading ingredients in a large bowl.
- After the chicken has sit, dredge the chicken in the floor mixture. Set aside and make the sauce.
- To make the sauce, mix all of the liquid ingredients (excluding the sesame oil) and cornstarch together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a wok, add the sesame oil. Heat the oil until its hot on medium high heat.
- Add the garlic, red pepper, and orange zest to the wok. Cook for about 30 seconds.
- Next add the liquid ingredients to the wok, stir, and cook for about 3 minutes. Set sauce aside. The sauce will thicken.
- Now it's time to fry the chicken. Add the chicken (in small batches) to the deep fryer. Cook the chicken for five minutes. When chicken is done, place on a cooling rack to drain away grease. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked.
- Toss the chicken in the orange sauce, and serve immediately.
Please note that I am not a nutritionist, and the nutritional information is an estimate only. It varies based on the products and brands used.
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