Orange chicken is a popular Chinese dish in the United States. Called 陈皮鸡 in Chinese language, orange chicken is of Hunan origin. As with most Chinese food served in the United States, the likes of Panda Express have butchered it to a goopy, sticky, and unappetizing mess. So, when my readers requested for my orange chicken recipe, I resolved to share a great recipe for orange chicken.
Orange chicken (also known as orange peel chicken or tangerine chicken) derives its name from the use of dried orange peel (陈皮) in the recipe. As dried orange peel is not commonly available for most people, I used fresh orange zest as a replacement, which works well. As orange chicken is originally a Hunan dish, you can’t do without some dried red chilies…
Below is my orange chicken recipe. As with other favorite Chinese recipes such as Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, mongolian beef, and cashew chicken, they are much better prepared at home than take-outs from your neighborhood Chinese joints.
(Chinese recipes, prepare authentic Chinese food now!)
Ingredients:
1/2 pound chicken breast (cut into bite-size cubes)
5 dried red chilies (cut into 1.5 inch length, seeded and soaked in warm water)
1 teaspoon minced orange zest
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 inch ginger (minced)
1 stalk scallion (use the white part only, cut into thin threads for garnishing)
2 teaspoons oil
Oil for deep frying
Orange Sauce:
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons canned chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
5 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
1 teaspoon corn starch
Salt to taste
Frying Batter:
1/2 cup water
2 oz. all-purpose flour
1 oz. corn starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 egg
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 small pinch of salt
Method:
Mix the orange sauce ingredients and set aside.
Mix the frying batter and dip the chicken meat into the batter. Heat up a pot/wok of cooking oil. When the cooking oil is hot enough for frying, drop the chicken pieces into the oil and deep fry them until they turn golden brown or crispy. Transfer them out onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
In a wok, add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil and quickly stir-fry the minced garlic and ginger until aromatic. Add in the dried red chilies and toss around until you smell the spicy aroma. Follow by the minced orange zest and then chicken. Quickly stir the chicken around before adding the orange sauce mixture. Continue to stir-fry until the sauce thicken. Dish out, garnish with the scallion threads and serve immediately with steamed white rice.
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
We had a dish called Orange Sesame the other day, so I’m going to try out your recipe, and throw in some roasted sesame seeds. Thanks!
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I cooked another version of orange chicken with whole chicken thighs a few days ago, but I didn’t use dried chilli. Your version looks really good!
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This recipe works well for fish also! I noticed that you have baking soda in the frying batter. Does baking soda provide more crispiness? I normally use only egg white, corn starch, salt & pepper.
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Wonder if we can find canned chicken broth in malaysia? that would make life sooo much easier dont you think?
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Caroline replied:
I think I saw it in Cold Storage before.
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This seems like a variation of Lemon Chicken eh… Nice yummy-looking photo!
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I love the citrusy taste of this dish! This and lemon chicken ;o)
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This looks fabulous! And so much better than take-out! :)
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wow, really nice looking dish. I didn’t know Orange Chicken has its origin in Chinese cuisine. The only way I’m using 陈皮 right now is for red bean soup, hehe
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Ah, this looks so much more appetizing than the usual day-glo mess! And the red peppers are sure to make any dish more appetizing, so I’m game for this version! :)
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Looks good!! I also like to have some toasted sesame!!
I know what you meant by the chinese food like Panda Express.. it’s just disgusting.. same like some chains in london … horrible..
Best to make at home!!
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all time favorate ORANGE CHICKEN ,delecious
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Finally, a great looking orange chicken recipe. I think the real orange zest would be delicious in it.
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rare dish in Malaysian KL restaurants (except for lemon chickens , which is quite popular here )
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many things are better when made at home lol! a while back i had a friend of mine bring back a “authentic” chinese cookbook for me from his trip to china. it was in chinese and in english and if i remember correctly there was a recipe for orange chicken. i have to check it out later.
this looks great. i like adding fruity flavors to chicken.
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Your dish looks very appetizing. I dun mind to eat it but will not cook it bcos I dun like deep-frying.
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delicious….superb presentation
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I made this dish last night….. it was a HIT!!!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!!!
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I had some with the dried orange peel (wow), and lots of dried chilis the other day. What a difference from the Panda Express orange chicken that seems to set the popular standard.
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looks yummy! my mom used to make this and a fish version
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Thanks for sharing the recipe, Bee.
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I love to eat this dish but whenever anything involves deep frying…I just don’t like to do it at home. Do you re-use the frying oil for your next dish or simply throwing it out?
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I just returned from a wonderful 2 weeks holiday in the US and hey, say what you like (you’re spoilt rotten!) – the chinese express/take-ways in America is much nicer than the ones they have here in the UK. At least when I go to any food court over there and order something as simple/butchered as the Orange Chicken, I can actually finish the meal without complaining and mumbling about how they managed to “westernised” a chinese dish.
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That chicken looks tasty!
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I had a feeling to make this dish but didnt know if it existed coz the common one is lemon chicken, not orange. Anyway, found your recipe here instantly when i googled. Love the recipe. Tried it and it is such a hit! i find it even better than the lemon chicken!
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I read so much about Panda Express and was even going to try and make their chicken (I live in Canada, we don’t have Panda E. here). I should have known that almost without exception, food from a chain tastes horrible. Can’t wait to try this, thanks for posting it.
PS What would cooking be without hoisin and soy sauce and the like? Can’t imagine.
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I love Panda Express………..BUT THIS IS THE BEST ORANGE CHICKEN HANDS DOWN! I thought it wouldn’t be spicy enough since the seeds were taken out, and the chilies were soaked in warm water…..but it had the perfect amount of spice in it. The next time I make it, I might want to double the amount of sauce since it got absorbed by the chicken skin. But the orange sauce was so yummy that I started licking the pan!! Since I make lunch for my parents every Sunday, I always know I can rely on Rasamalaysia for a delicious dish!! :D
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I tried this at home nut stir fried (rather than deep fried) the chicken (without the batter). I then poured the sauce over the chicken and it tasted great.
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AMAZING! I just made it for my roommates and they all loved it.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Natalie – that’s great. I am glad your roommates loved the orange chicken.
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I’ve tried this recipe last Sunday – my husband loved it. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
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I just made this tonight. It was absolutely delicious! Thanks for the wonderful recipe. The whole (picky) family loved it.
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