We originally posted this recipe on June 15, 2015. We’ve made slight adjustments to the recipe that we think make it even better, included more detailed instructions to guide you, and added new photos and metric measurements. To compare our tweaks with the original recipe, see the 2015 version at the end of this post.
More Than Just Orange Chicken
Over the years, I’ve learned how to make the best orange chicken from a combination of working in Chinese restaurant kitchens, cooking at home, and also eating out! Orange chicken is similar to takeout sweet and sour chicken, which relies on vinegar and pineapple juice, but uses orange juice instead. I love this version because it’s not only got plenty of orange juice and rice wine vinegar, but also aromatics like dried hot chili peppers, star anise, and dried tangerine peels, which add extra dimension and really enhance the flavor of the sauce. You can use dark or white meat for this dish, but we opted to use chicken breast. Feel free to use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer. As for preparing the chicken, we usually call for a velveting step. Since we’re frying the chicken pieces, however, velveting isn’t needed. Instead, we simply dredge the marinated chicken in cornstarch to achieve that crispy coating. Like this recipe? Also check out our classic General Tso’s Chicken!
While in Florida, we ended up at Dooley Groves, where we picked our own oranges, grapefruits, and pomelos. We took our time selecting each fruit, trying to pick the heaviest (i.e. juiciest) ones. All said and done, we had over 30 POUNDS of oranges, pomelos, grapefruits and tangerines. Clearly, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. But it was the perfect time to create our own orange chicken recipe with fresh Florida citrus. Our favorite fruit was the honey tangerines, which didn’t look great, but were the sweetest and most flavorful variety we tasted. We really like using fresh orange juice for this recipe, but store-bought orange juice is also fine!
Orange Chicken Recipe Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the chicken:
Add the chicken to a dish, and add the water, Shaoxing wine, salt, garlic powder, sesame oil, and white pepper. Toss to combine, and set aside for at least 20 minutes or covered and refrigerated overnight. Add the cornstarch to a shallow bowl, and dredge the chicken pieces until evenly coated.
Step 2: Prepare the sauce:
Mix the orange chicken sauce by combining the orange juice, chicken stock, sugar, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, and salt. Taste the sauce, and add more rice vinegar if you like it tart, more salt or oyster sauce if you think it needs more salt, and/or a little more sugar if you like it sweeter. Soak the dried tangerine peels, whole dried chili peppers, and star anise in a bowl filled with room temperature water for 2 minutes, and drain. This will help bring out their flavors later when they are toasted in the dry wok. Also, take care not to break open the chilis, or the seeds inside will make the dish very spicy!
Step 3: Fry the chicken:
Heat 1 to 1½ cups of canola oil in a wok to 350°F/175°C. You will shallow-fry the chicken in two batches. Carefully place half of the chicken into the wok, and shallow fry until golden brown (about 3 to 4 minutes), turning the chicken halfway through for even cooking and browning. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels or a wire rack set over a sheet pan, then repeat with the second batch. If you want the chicken extra crispy and you’re using dark meat—after the chicken has rested for 5 to 10 minutes, reheat the oil and give the chicken a second fry for 1 to 2 minutes. This step is optional.
Step 4: Assemble the dish:
Remove most of the oil from the wok, leaving behind about 1 tablespoon. Heat the wok over medium-low heat, and add the tangerine peel, chili peppers, and star anise. Toast these aromatics for 30 seconds, until fragrant, taking care not to burn them. Next, add the chopped ginger and garlic, if using. Cook for 10 seconds, and then add the prepared sauce mixture. Bring to a simmer. Stir up your cornstarch slurry, and gradually add it to the sauce, stirring constantly. When the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon (you may not need all of the cornstarch slurry to get your desired thickness), add the chicken and scallions. Toss everything together quickly. Scoop your orange chicken out of the wok… And serve!
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (450g, cut into chunks) ¼ teaspoon sesame oil 1/8 teaspoon white pepper ¼ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine ¼ cup cornstarch 1½ cup canola or vegetable oil (for shallow frying the chicken)
For the rest of the dish:
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil 6 dried red chili peppers 3 to 4 pieces dried tangerine or mandarin orange peel (optional) 2 star anise ¼ cup fresh orange juice (60 ml) ¼ cup chicken stock (60 ml) 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons cornstarch (mixed into slurry with 2 tablespoons water) 1 scallion (sliced on an angle into 1 1/2-inch pieces)
title: “Orange Chicken” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-06” author: “Leola Hancher”
It is sweet, tangy, a little spicy, crispy, and saucy; all of that in one bite. I’m so happy to share this spicy orange chicken and rice recipe. What else, I have tried it twice before I perfected it to be shared with you. Let me give you a little introduction to this dish first. Orange chicken was invented by Chef Andy Kao of Panda Express in 1987. This dish is widely served in North American Chinese restaurants. It is not traditional Chinese food and obviously, doesn’t have a Chinese origin. Learn more on Wikipedia.
Orange Chicken, a secret ingredient!
The orange chicken has a sweet and sour taste with a spicy tangy kick and it is crispy and juicy. It is super is easy to make and you can easily tweak the sauce to your spice and tangy preference. To make the sauce, I’m using Orange juice powder (like Tang) which easily available and gives the same taste every time. Don’t get tempted to make this chicken with freshly pressed orange juice as it is unlikely to give the same taste. If you still want to use fresh orange juice then go for tart varieties of orange. If you do not have orange juice powder than use any processed orange juice that is pure and sugar-free (like Nestle). A sweeter, sugary orange juice can spoil the taste.
How to make it?
How to make Orange Sauce?
The orange chicken sauce is made of orange zest, orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and salt.
Tips
Orange chicken is all about crispy fried chicken and juicy chicken so my first tips are how to attain that.
Use boneless flesh of chicken thighs because it is juicier. Marinate the chicken overnight (6-12 hours) in the fridge so the chicken is tender and absorbs all the seasoning. What makes orange chicken crispy is cornflour coating and a few serving techniques that I’m discussing below. Prepare the sauce before you fry the chicken. So you can serve the crispy chicken immediately. Fry chicken as needed. (This is the method, I share in the recipe card.) If you are serving it to a larger group, here’s how to manage it. Make the orange sauce and set aside. Fry chicken on medium heat in small batches until very lightly golden and set aside. Just before serving, fry chicken once again on high heat until golden and crispy. Throw it in sauce and serve immediately. You can fry in larger batches when frying the second time. Lastly, if double frying is not possible; fry the chicken crispy and golden, and keep the fried chicken in the preheated oven at 200 F or less. Mix with sauce as needed. (You can keep the fried chicken in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes. Keeping for very long will dry out the chicken.) Check this recipe for baked orange chicken. To keep the recipe simple, I used white sugar to make the sauce. Use brown sugar for the best taste. Do a taste test for orange sauce and adjust salt or spices if needed.
Serve Orange chicken with fried rice. Hungry for more fried chicken? Check these!
Chicken 65 Chicken Manchurian Crispy Chicken tender (with cornflakes coating) Sesame Chicken Nuggets Ground Chicken Nuggets Smoky Chicken and Rice with tomato basil sauce Barbecue Tikka Chicken and rice
📖 Recipe
