This weekend, I made one of Mr. K’s favorite dishes: orange chicken.
Coming from a Chinese background, I have a contentious relationship with orange chicken. I don’t mind it per se. It tastes fine. I just get a little annoyed, sometimes very annoyed, when people start talking about how they love authentic Chinese food and then they say orange chicken is their favorite Chinese dish.
Mr. K likes to say he loves orange chicken just to see if he can get me riled up. I’m okay with it most of the time, as long as people realize it is an American Chinese dish.
I actually had absolutely no idea how to make it and had to look up recipes. The steps are relatively simple and I was pretty relieved that my first attempt came out looking like the orange chicken I usually see served at restaurants.
You’ll need to marinate the chicken for a few hours so do plan ahead.
When I presented it to Mr. K, he gave me two thumbs up. He absolutely loved it, so I guess the recipe I chose is a pretty good version.
If you are eating low carb I also have Keto Orange Chicken!
Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp cornstarch
- oil for frying
- 1 egg for coating and frying
Instructions
- Mix together the chicken broth, juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, sriracha, ginger and pepper in a bowl to make the marinade. Pour slightly more than 1/2 of the marinade into Ziploc bag. Set the rest aside to make sauce later. Slice chicken into 1 inch cubes. Add chicken into marinade bag. Let chicken marinade for at least 2 hours.
- Pour oil into frying pan at least 1 inch deep and heat to medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk the egg. In a separate small bowl, pour 1 cup cornstarch. Drain chicken from marinade. Dunk chicken first in egg, then coat in cornstarch and then put into heated frying pan. Fry for a few minutes until chicken is a light golden brown. You can do a few pieces at a time, in small batches until all chicken is used up. Place already fried chicken aside on a plate lined with paper towel.
- In a small saucepan, pour the remaining marinade that was previously set aside. Add in 2 tbsp of cornstarch and mix so it is completely dissolved. Cook on low heat, the so that the cornstarch does not get chunky. Cook for a few minutes until sauce becomes thick.
- Set aside about 1/3 of the sauce. Leave remaining 2/3 in a saucepan and add in fried chicken pieces and coat with sauce. Serve chicken over rice. Pour some of the remaining sauce on top.
Notes
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.
Is it alright to use chicken breast instead of chicken thighs? I misread the ingredients at the store and had a slip up :p can i?
yes you can, though your chicken might taste a bit dry.
Just reporting back that we did try this recipe and it’s so yummy! We served it on a bed of hot rice and choy sum on the side. Thanks for sharing!
I’m super happy with this recipe too. My husband has been pestering me to make it again.
Haha I know what you mean. Being Taiwanese, I always feel slightly blasphemous ordering orange chicken, but it’s so good! I will need to try this out, thanks!
hehehe
any reason why ?
Nope, we’ve just never thought to order it before
thanks for this.
how does mrk feel about general tso chicken?
i only go to certain places fro orange chicken or tso chicken
because not they are using dark meat– which is so hard to chew– instead of boneless chicken breasts.
We never get general tso chicken
leftovers? not the slightest idea what you are talking about. my husband left no leftovers. none at all. and he’s still begging for more.
that is so great to hear! My husband had just enough leftovers for one meal. And now he keeps asking for more.
hey, there.
i made it yesterday.
it was as delicious as it looks on your pictures.
yummy!
thanks for the delight – and the tons of weight i gain because of your recipies. 😀
all the best from germany.
I’m so happy to hear it turned out well for you. My husband just ate the rest of the leftovers yesterday and he was still raving about it! I will have to make this again soon.
I read a good book about the history of Chinese (American) food in America. May I suggest “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food” by Jennifer 8 Lee?
Oh, I have heard of the book, but haven’t read it! Thanks for the suggestion. I need a new book to read and this sounds perfect
Oh, I have heard of the book, but haven’t read it! Thanks for the suggestion. I need a new book to read and this sounds perfect
haha, i know what you mean. i actually like orange chicken, but it’s definitely nowhere to be found in taipei.. actually i found one place that serves an orange chicken like pork, but the name is more like sweet vinegar pork rather than orange pork. i’ll have to try the recipe sometime!
hehe, yup. I don’t even know how they came up with these American Chinese dishes since most of the time they taste so different from typical Chinese food. But yeah, the recipe isn’t too hard and I think it’s better to make than to get the tiny portions at Panda Express
1) Cannot believe we both posted chicken recipes from Damn Delicious today. 2) Love that panda chopstick thingy!
Hehe. Twins. =)
Hi Kirby! I will have to make this chicken recipe for my son. I’m making 180 of your Oreo sugar cookies to send to school with him on Friday to share with his whole grade plus teachers. I added sprinkles into them to change them up a bit! Thanks for all your fab recipes!!
Wow, 180 cookies! Definitely check out the chicken recipe. My husband gets orange chicken all the time at restaurants and he thought this recipe was delicious.