Orange Chicken Recipe

Contents

Last week I had cravings for orange chicken, and after a busy day at work, my friend and I decided to visit a Chinese restaurant here in New York, United States; and on the menu was orange chicken. My curiosity was piqued, and I called the attention of my friend, who accompanied me to the restaurant. I guess I was curious about how the fruit and the protein would be a good pair.

When I was served, I took a bite of the chicken, and the taste was heavenly. I could taste the sweet citrus with a hint of pepper and honey, coupled with the fact the skin of the chicken was quite crispy. Needless to say, I loved it!

I decided to do more research about the meal and realized I could make it right in my kitchen as the ingredients are not uncommon.

For my first trial of homemade orange chicken, the preparation of this recipe was in two parts. The frying of the chicken and preparing the orange sauce.

Here are the following ingredients I used:

Ingredients

*For frying the chicken:

1 kilo of chicken thighs
1 tablespoon of corn starch
Egg whites
Salt
Red pepper flakes
Vegetable oil

*For the orange sauce:

250ml of orange juice
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1 small tuber of crushed ginger
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
4 spoons of rice wine vinegar
3 spoons of soy sauce
2 spoons of honey

How to Prepare:

1. Wash the chicken with salt and water, then chop into bite-sized nuggets. At least tiny enough for you to eat it whole in one bite. I used chicken thighs because it has few bones, so ensure to use the part of the chicken with fewer bones.

2. After washing it, season with salt and pepper and set aside. This would help it marinate while you prepare other ingredients.

3. Add egg whites and corn starch in a bowl and whisk together till it incorporates.

4. After whisking it together, add in the already salted and peppered chicken nuggets and stir appropriately, so the corn starch mixture coats the body of the chicken. Leave it to soak up for 10-15 minutes. This would enable all the ingredients to marry, enhancing the flavor.

5. Heat a pan to medium heat, add vegetable oil and then fry the chicken batch by batch till you get a thorough crispy light brown chicken.

6. When you have fried it brown on both sides, scoop it out and drain in a sieve or parchment papers to remove excess oil.

The next stage is making the orange sauce;

1. In a saucepan, add the orange juice, soy sauce, crushed ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and rice vinegar and stir.

2. Let it boil, then add in your corn starch slurry. To make the corn starch slurry, just add a tablespoon of corn starch and a teaspoon of water and mix till you have an almost paste-like consistency.

3. Add in two spoons of honey, or you could use brown sugar.

4. Stir the orange sauce properly, then add the already fried chicken and coat both sides with the orange sauce.

5. Your orange chicken is ready to be served. Enjoy this delicious citrus delicacy with a cold juice or rice as you desire.