Name: Orange Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1.75 lb boneless chicken thighs (800g); 1/4 tsp salt + pepper; 1 egg white; 1/2 cup flour; 1/2 cup cornstarch; frying oil (canola, veg or peanut oil); juice of 2 oranges (1 cup/250ml); 2 large garlic cloves, grated; 1/2 tsp ginger, grated; 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce; 2 tsp rice vinegar; 3 tbsp sugar; 1 tbsp sesame oil; ¼ chicken broth (60ml); 2 tsp cornstarch; 2 tbsp cool water

Description

One of my favorite Chinese takeout recipes – orange chicken! It’s extra crunchy from double-frying and coated in a glossy orange sauce.

Ingredients

Scale

1.75 lb boneless chicken thighs (800g)
1/4 tsp salt + pepper
1 egg white
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
frying oil (canola, veg or peanut oil)

Sauce

juice of 2 oranges (1 cup/250ml)
2 large garlic cloves, grated
1/2 tsp ginger, grated
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
¼ chicken broth (60ml)

Slurry

2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cool water

garnish: scallions, orange slices, sesame seeds

Instructions

Heat the frying oil on medium-high heat and prepare the rest of the ingredients in the meantime.
Cut chicken thighs into 1 inch cubes and dry with a paper towel. Larger chicken pieces will give you moister chicken, so make sure the pieces aren’t too small. I used chicken thighs to ensure a really juicy result.. but you can use other parts of chicken if you’d like. Season with salt and pepper to bring out the flavor and add an egg white. Then mix in the flour and cornstarch and shake off the excess flour before deep-frying.
Fry in batches until a light golden brown color (about 4 to 6 minutes) and make sure not to add too many pieces at a time so the oil temperature does not decrease which will result in soggy chicken. Let the chicken pieces rest on a rack as you continue to fry the rest. Then, double fry for 45 seconds to 1.5 minutes for EXTRA CRISPY chicken. This makes a huge difference, trust me.
Prepare the sauce mixture by adding the orange juice, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and sesame oil. Bring to a boil in a saucepan, then add the chicken broth which will reduce the temperature of the pan. Immediately add the cornstarch slurry and continue stirring so it does not clump. Cook until the sauce has thickened, then mix in the chicken. Garnish & serve with white rice and vegetables.

Notes

All of these ingredients and my favorite brands for cooking can be found here on my Amazon Storefront page!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: orange chicken, chinese food