The popular sweet and savory Chinese orange chicken sauce is mixed with noodles to make an addicting orange chicken pasta.
You know how sometimes you fall in love with a sauce so much that you want to use it on everything? Dip stuff in it, spread it toast, eat it by the spoonful. So I was eating orange chicken the other day and thought, why not use it as a pasta sauce?
And it works brilliantly. To make things a little easier, I didn’t fry the chicken I made with it. Instead, I just sauteed the chicken pieces and then tossed them in the sauce. This makes for an easy weeknight meal.
If you enjoy this post, check out my other orange chicken recipes:
Orange Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb spaghetti
- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch strips (see note)
- 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
for the sauce
- 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 1/2 tbsp vinegar
- 1/8 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp ginger minced
- 1 tsp sriracha (see note)
- 1 tsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- In a medium pot, boil pasta until done. Drain and set aside.
- In a pan, add oil and bring to medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add chicken and sauté chicken strips until fully cooked. Set aside.
- In a small pot or saucepan, combine 2 tbsp water, orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, sriracha, ginger. Bring to a boil and stir until all ingredients dissolve and become a uniform sauce.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine remaining 2 tbsp water with cornstarch. Mix until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Pour into boiling sauce and stir constantly until sauce thickens. Turn off the stove and add chicken into the sauce pot, mixing to coat chicken pieces.
- Dish out pasta, and scoop chicken and sauce on top. Serve immediately. Please note, this dish must be eaten warm. When the sauce gets cold, it will become jelly-like from the cornstarch and will need to be reheated, preferably on the stove.
Notes
- You can also use boneless skinless chicken breast.
- If 1 teaspoon of sriracha is too spicy for you, you can replace half of it with ketchup to get the orange color without affecting the flavor of the dish too much.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I made this with some roasted pasta and it was AWESOME. I substituted honey for sugar (1:1) and used 1/2 tsp paprika and 1/2 tsp ketchup instead of sriracha. Again, this was really really good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! funny, I was just thinking the other day that I haven’t made this in a while!