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Orange Chicken

Posting Date: 06/08/18

Orange Chicken tastes delicious and is even better when you make it yourself because of the addition of orange zest and the balanced flavor of the sauce. Some Chinese restaurants make the sauce too sweet but the sauce from my recipe is very balanced. The sauce is slightly sweet, sour, and salty. The addition of orange zest makes it taste fresh. If you like the taste of orange zest or orange, you can put more of orange zest. I use freshly squeezed orange juice because it tastes better and there is no added flavor. To get the orange zest and orange juice, I choose Navel orange because it has thicker skin and thus, it is easier to zest it and to me, it tastes stronger and thus, better.

This recipe makes for 2-3 people.

Ingredients:

10 oz boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes
For chicken batter: 1 egg, lightly beaten
For chicken batter: 1.5 teaspoons salt
For chicken batter: pinch of black pepper
For chicken batter: 1/2 cup corn starch
For chicken batter: 1/4 cup all purpose flour
For frying chicken: vegetable oil
For orange sauce: 1/2 cup fresh orange juice from fresh oranges
For orange sauce: 1 teaspoon orange zest
For orange sauce: 1/2 cup chicken broth
For orange sauce: 2 tablespoons soy sauce
For orange sauce: 4 tablespoons sugar or to taste
For orange sauce: 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
For orange sauce: 1.5 teaspoons corn starch
For orange sauce: pinch of salt or to taste
1 tablespoon cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
For garnishing (optional): toasted sesame seeds
For garnishing: orange slices

Methods:

Place egg, salt, and pepper into a bowl and whisk to combine the seasoning with the egg. Place corn starch and all purpose flour into another bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk until the batter becomes smooth and has no flour lump.
Pour enough vegetable oil into a deep frying pan to fry the chicken. Heat the pan over medium high heat.
Once the oil in the pan is hot, dip some of the chicken breast pieces in the chicken batter. Gently place the battered chicken in the frying pan. Fry the chicken but make sure you don't overcrowd the pan. So, you may have to fry the chicken in batches. Once the bottom side is golden brown, turn it over to fry the other side. Fry it until all sides are golden brown. Once all sides are golden brown, remove the chicken using slotted spoon to drain excess oil. Place the fried chicken on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil. Repeat this step until all chicken pieces have been fried.
Place all the ingredients for the orange sauce in a bowl. Whisk the sauce to mix the ingredients.
Pour 1 tablespoon vegetable oil into a sauce pan. Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute it until it becomes fragrant. Whisk the orange sauce and pour it into the sauce pan. Heat the sauce, whisk it from time to time, and cook until it is slightly thicken. Taste it and add more salt or sugar if needed. Add the fried chicken. Toss it so that all chicken pieces are coated with the sauce. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds if preferred.
Transfer to a serving plate and serve with orange slices on the side.

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