Orange Chicken

When we order Chinese takeout I know that my daughter will choose Orange Chicken, Sesame Chicken, or Honey Chicken depending on her mood. With the Covid-19 shutdowns the two Chinese restaurants in our little town were closed for several months. There are only two things that my kids think that I don’t make better than a restaurant and those are pizza and some Chinese takeout foods. I think I finally have them!

Verdict: This dish has a REALLY strong orange flavor, so if that is not what you are looking for dial back the orange zest a bit and add to taste. Served over white sticky rice with a side of broccoli my kids said I finally mastered orange chicken. They liked that it wasn’t as greasy as the takeout and they could have all they wanted to eat. Like I said the orange flavor was too much for me but the rest of my family loved it.

Orange Chicken

Servings: 6-8 servings
Time: 20-25 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, skinless and bonelesss, cut into bite size pieces
3 eggs
Salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3/4 cup corn starch
1 cup flour
Water as per need to make batter

For Sauce:
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cup+ brown sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
3 tablespoons orange zest
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water
Oil to fry chicken

Directions:

In a bowl mix the egg, salt, cornstarch, flour, soy sauce, and pepper.
Add water to this little by little to make the batter enough to be smooth and coat the chicken pieces, it should not be runny. Drop the chicken pieces in to coat.
Heat oil in a skillet enough to submerge the chicken.
When the oil is hot, carefully place the coated chicken pieces into the oil and fry till golden brown in small batches.
Remove from oil and set on paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
In a bowl stir together all the sauce ingredients until well combined.
Pour the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a slow boil.
Add the chicken pieces to sauce mix and let them cook till chicken is coated well with sauce and thickened.
Serve hot with noodles or rice.