Restaurant Quality Chinese Orange Chicken

Recipe: Orange Chicken Recipe »

This orange chicken recipe is for an Chinese American restaurant classic . Delicious boneless pieces of chicken are seasoned and fried and the coated in a delicious orange glaze. It's so delicious and perfect for orange season right now. My method is slightly different and makes the chicken super juicy and full of flavour!

About This Orange Chicken Recipe

It's funny how each country has their own version of Chinese food. In Australia it's all about sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken, chow mein and fried rice. But in America there is Orange chicken, Egg Foo Yung and General Tsao's chicken.

You can sometimes find orange chicken here in Australia (Boy Boy Bowls in Newtown sells a great orange chicken). But it is also incredible easy to make at home too. My recipe for this is different from other though because instead of coating the chicken in an egg batter, I combine it with my favourite chicken karaage marinade to give it even more flavour. Seriously, it makes such a difference and really transforms it to become so moreish. Mr NQN was fairly nonplussed about the egg version but he absolutely loved my version using special marinade (and don't worry it's super easy and 5 minutes marinating will do!).

Tips For Making Chinese Orange Chicken

1- Potato starch gives the best results for this dish but cornflour/fine cornstarch also works. Potato starch can be found at Asian grocery stores.

2 - While fresh ginger is great, I always keep a jar of crushed ginger in my fridge and I used it in this recipe.

3 - The marinade is simple and just marinating it for 5 minutes actually imparts enough flavour so that you can taste it in every bite. That's because the chicken is cut into small pieces.

4 - Use chicken thighs over chicken breast or tenderloin. Chicken thighs will give you a better restaurant quality taste and mouthfeel.

5 - I like serving this with plain steamed rice and some sesame broccolini (recipe here).

The ingredients needed for Orange chicken are simple:

• Chicken thigh fillets - these are better than chicken breast or tenderloins because they retain a juicy texture
• Light soy sauce - to season
• Shaoxing cooking wine - this has a distinctive flavour and aroma that elevates the dish to taste more like a restaurant quality dish. You can often find this at supermarkets nowadays.
• Grated ginger and crushed garlic - to add flavour and aroma.

• Potato starch - cornflour or fine cornstarch also works but potato starch gives the best results

• Orange zest - always zest your orange before you juice it to make it easier.

• Orange juice - I used fresh but bottled juice also works. I prefer using the refrigerated juice (rather than juice that sits on the shelf).
• White sugar - to create the glaze. You can also use caster or superfine sugar
• Rice vinegar - this is also found at supermarkets today and gives a mild tanginess. If you don't have rice vinegar try white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar (white vinegar is a bit too strong)
• Cornflour/fine cornstarch - to mix with water to make a slurry that will thicken the sauce.

• Oil for frying - the best oils for deep frying are canola or peanut oil as they have a high smoke point which means that they can be heated to a high temperature without breaking down and producing harmful compounds. Avocado oil has a very high smoke point but can be pricey at these volumes.

Orange Chicken Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Orange Chicken Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients Needed

For Chicken

• 500g/1.1lbs chicken thigh fillets
• 60ml/2flozs soy sauce
• 25ml/1floz Shaoxing cooking wine
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Oil for deep frying
• 180g/6ozs potato starch (cornflour or fine cornstarch also works)

For Orange Chicken Sauce

• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozs orange juice
• 120g/4ozs white sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon cornflour/fine cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

To serve

• Green onions
• Toasted white sesame seeds
• Steamed rice

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 - Cut up chicken thigh fillets into inch sized pieces and place into a ziplock bag. In a bowl mix the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, grated ginger, garlic and sugar into a bowl until sugar starts to dissolve and then pour this over the chicken and massage it over the chicken so each piece is coated. Set aside while you make the sauce. It only needs a few minutes to marinate.

Step 2 - Place the orange zest, orange juice, sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, ginger and garlic into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce has become glossy. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cornflour and water together and then stir this slurry into the orange mixture. Simmer gently for 1 minute, then remove from the heat.

Step 3 - Make the chicken. Add oil to a cast iron pot or deep fryer and heat it to 180C/350F. While it is heating up, drain the sauce from the chicken and then place the chicken back into the ziplock bag along with the potato starch. Seal and shake so that the chicken pieces are coated in the flour. Fry the chicken pieces in 3 batches. Cook in the hot oil for 5 minutes then turn over and then cook for another 2-3 minutes. Drain on a double layer of paper towels. Toss the chicken into the orange sauce and serve with steamed rice, green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Personal Note

I try and eat fruit but honestly it doesn't come naturally to me. I prefer vegetables but I know it's good to get Vitamin C especially when you're travelling. When I was in Gruyere, Switzerland recently I made sure to go down for breakfast. Usually I skip breakfast because I don't get hungry until after 11am but food is expensive there so I would make something to eat. One day I had a lot of travelling to do at an early hour but the idea of eating breakfast was too much so I made myself a little sandwich for the train as I headed for the airport home. I got some Gruyere AOP bread (a brioche) and added some gruyere cheese, ham and turkey slices and some roasted cherry tomatoes from the breakfast buffet. Then I wrapped it up in two napkins and put it in my bag. Then I grabbed an apricot from the fruit bowl and I was on my way.

I was travelling with our host Michele who had kindly come with me as I had a few trains to catch and heavy luggage and she was headed the same way. We sat down opposite a couple who were friendly and smiled at us. I took my phone out of my coat pocket and it had some gunk all over it. It looked red and orange and was mushy and pulpy. "Ugggghh, what is that?" I said disgustedly feeling the squelch between my fingers and seeing it smeared across my phone screen. It kind of look like a pale blood clot.

It turns out it was the apricot I had taken from the buffet that had squashed in my bag! I burst out laughing and Michele laughed too because quite frankly it looked gross. The lady opposite us watched and tried her best to stifle her laughter covering her mouth because the Swiss are polite people but I could see that it was becoming too hard to stifle her laughter and her face turned pink with laughter! I just laughed and shrugged at her, the international language of "Eh, what can you do?".

So tell me Dear Reader, do you ever make yourself a "travel sandwich"? And have you ever left something in your pocket that turned bad? Have you ever tried orange chicken?