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Orange Chicken - Crispy, sticky chicken in tangy orange sauce that takes 30 minutes to make and is much better than Panda Express or takeout.
What Is Orange Chicken
This chicken is the poster child of American-Chinese cuisine. If you walk into any Panda Express or Chinese takeout restaurant, you’re sure to find it on the menu. While sometimes called Orange Peel Chicken, it is the same thing.
However, General Tso’s Chicken is not the same. While both are deep fried, General Tso’s chicken is usually a lot spicier. Furthermore, this specific chicken is made with an orange peel.
How Does It Taste
This chicken recipe is extremely delicious and flavorful. Chicken breast is used to make crispy deep-fried chicken coated in a batter, with a sweet, tangy and savory orange sauce.
It’s citrusy because of the orange juice and zest in the recipe. It’s also mildly spicy because of the chili sauce.
The Best Orange Sauce
The key to the best orange chicken lies in, not surprisingly, the orange sauce. The ingredients are easy to find. It calls for orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, sugar, apple cider vinegar and chili sauce.
Therefore, it’s sweet, sour and salty with a little bit of heat. You can make a big batch of the sauce and keep it in the refrigerator.
How Do You Prepare The Chicken
First, you prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients in the sauce. For the chicken, you want to deep fry using my special batter recipe.
Finally, using a wok or skillet, cook the orange sauce mixture until it thickens, then add in the deep-fried chicken. Stir to combine well and dinner is done!
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 469 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Orange Chicken
Serve this dish with other Chinese classics such as hot and sour soup. For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 10 oz (280g) boneless chicken breast , cut into bite-sized cubes
- oil , for deep-frying
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- orange slices , for garnishing
- white sesame, for garnishing
Orange Sauce:
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon garlic chili sauce , Rooster brand Huy Fong, optional
- 3 tablespoons chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, red wine or Chinese white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 pinch salt
Frying Batter:
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup water, ice cold
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the Orange Sauce together and whisk to combine well. In another bowl, whisk all the Frying Batter ingredients until the batter is smooth. Drop in the chicken cubes, coat them well, and set aside.
- Heat a wok or non-stick skillet with oil. Gently drop in the battered chicken cubes one by one, ensuring they are spread out to prevent sticking and overcrowding the wok or skillet.
- Deep-fry the chicken pieces until they turn golden brown and become crispy. Remove them using a strainer and drain on paper towels.
- Transfer the deep-frying oil to a container, leaving 1 tablespoon in the wok or skillet. Add the garlic and stir-fry until aromatic or light brown in color. Gently pour in the Orange Sauce mixture, stir, and bring it to a light simmer.
- Toss in the deep-fried chicken and stir to combine well. Dish out, garnish with orange slices, sprinkle with white sesame seeds, and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
That looks like a dear recipe. I look forward to making it. And I appreciate the batter recipe because they’re hard to find.
Very best,
Toby Tylor
Chef
Thanks Toby!
Doubled the sauce amounts because we like it saucy, absolutely delicious and easy to make.
Hands down the best Orange Chicken I have had to date this recipe stands on its own at the top. Thank you!
Thanks. All my recipes are the best! Please try more!
I agree with you, this recipe is way better than take out. Was a big hit with the whole family. Really appreciate the clear directions and easy (and yummy) recipe.
Question – what do you do with the leftover oil?
Hi Nicole thanks so much. You can save the oil in a bowl or container and reuse it for other deep-fried recipes. You can try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
My son adores this recipe & says it’s better than restaurant orange chicken. It’s easy & delicious. This is the best. Thank you, Bee!!! (PS: a pork chop recipe came out wonderfully over the weekend. I’ll be checking out more of your recipes now that I have the name down!)
Hi Linda, thanks for your sweet comment. Yes, all my recipes are very good. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Dear Rasa,
Your recipe for Orange Chicken is absolutely wonderful. I live in Brillion, a small town near Green Bay, Wisconsin so I had to use American Chili sauce and a few drops of Mexican hot sauce in place of the Chinese chili sauce.
Next time I make this dish I am going to try making one of the side dishes you suggested above. Thank you so much. I am so pleased with this dish.
Hi Mark, thanks so much, this is the BEST orange chicken recipe you will find online, I am so glad you tried my recipe. Please try out more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!! ???I just made this meal!! My family loved it and a friend took a to-go plate??
This is the best recipe! My daughter and I have made it several times.
Hi Jennifer, I agree. You won’t find a better orange chicken recipe online. It’s unfortunate that Google always show the not-so-great recipe at the top of search results.
Yum! I love orange chicken. Your recipe looks super simple and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Yes this is the best orange chicken you will find online.