Chinese Orange Chicken
Not even Panda Express can beat this homemade orange chicken!
Today was just one of those days. My photography shoot went awry. I burned myself when frying an egg. There was an ant party in my kitchen trash. I hit the worst kind of traffic on a Saturday afternoon for a 3 mile drive. The list goes on.
The highlight of my day was that I still had some of this orange chicken left. This is a Chinese favorite of mine, especially from Panda Express, involving crisp, fried chicken bites smothered in a wonderfully sweet and tangy orange sauce. There is a bit of prep work involved here but at the end of the day, nothing beats homemade, right? And believe me when I say that not even Panda Express will beat this version!
Chinese Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
For the marinade
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup distilled white vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- To make the marinade, whisk together chicken broth, orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, orange zest, Sriracha, ginger and white pepper in a large bowl.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken and 2/3 cup of the marinade; marinate for at least 30 minutes, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade.
- Heat remaining marinade in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir in 2 tablespoons cornstarch combined with 2 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened about 1-2 minutes; keep warm.
- Working one at a time, dip the chicken into the eggs, then dredge in remaining 1 cup cornstarch, pressing to coat.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Working in batches, add chicken and fry until golden brown and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; discard excess oil.
- Serve chicken immediately, tossed or drizzled with the marinade, garnished with sesame seeds and green onion, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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I made this recipe thinking that it might not turn out very well but i would give it a try. BOY what a surprise to me! It was absolutely fabulous! Cannot thank you enough for the recipe!
I just wanted to come back to let you know that this recipe freezes well too. We loved it so much that I made up a double batch of the sauce and threw it in the freezer. Thawed it in the sink and it made for a super quick dinner.
I made these last night and they were amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Have made this recipe twice now. Delicious!! Love it!
Tried this out for the first time at home… Add extra oranges on the side to add more zesty orange flavor if you like that strength. Overall wonderful recipe, I’ll be coming back to this blog for more interesting and flavorful dishes!!!
I’m extremely happy..m who needs take out when you hace this!!!!!!! its super delicious! The best and no msg.mseriously I have you bookmark. .Thank you so much! This is my second recipe. Yesterday I tried the ravioli lasagna and it’s a hit. .The best part that everything is fresh! Once again thank you ..it’s a hit in the family
ive tried it and yummy i consider it one of my main dishes and thanks a lot for the great recipe
This recipe is delish! I CAN’T wait to make it again. Here’s a couple things I did. After getting my fingers disgustingly sticky from dipping the chicken in the egg, then the cornstarch, I decided to put the cornstarch and chicken in a gallon size bag and shook it. It got the chicken coated perfectly. I served up the chicken with a side of a brown sugar carrots fried in sesame oil. PERFECTO!
Ive made this dish once and loved it but i want to know if i Can bake it instead of frying
Diana, you can certainly bake it but I cannot speak for how much this will change the texture/flavor of the dish. I recommend using the cooking method listed in the recipe for optimal results.
Made this tonight for dinner and it was so easy to make. So delicious that my picky 3 year old ate every bite.
this recipe was delicious and easily substituted with allergy friendly ingredients, which my family requires. I subbed coconut aminos for soy sauce and used a mix of gluten free flour and arrowroot powder for the coating and fried it in lard. I will definitely make it again and I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!
Can you use brown sugar instead of white sugar in this recipe?
Kim, I recommend using brown sugar for optimal results.
Thank you for this recipe! Made it tonight for dinner. We LOVED it!! I’ll be making this again and again.
Like the comment above, I heed the idea of putting the chicken on a ziplock (after dipping on beaten eggs ), saves so much time. Well i tried this yesterday and even went back to the grocery store to buy the Sriracha, because it was a last minute decision to cook this recipe. My hubby said “this orange chicken is a winner”. Thanks to your wonderful recipe! More power!
Loved it! Delicious recipe. Cooked chicken longer and used another comment post which put cornstarch in ziplock bag to bread the chicken after dipping it in egg which I think saved some time and was probably easier. Turned out great. Served it with white rice and peas. Will make again! Thanks
Made this for dinner tonight, the flavor was amazing but I was disappointed with the texture..i fried the chicken and it was nice and crispy, as soon as I mixed in the sauce with chicken the coating began falling off on many pieces and biggest letdown is that is was not crispy! It was soft and almost soggy..what did I do wrong?
I’m thinking of trying readers suggestions of baking it in oven with the sauce, maybe that will be more crispy?
I will wait for your input I really want to make this again.
Your recipes look amazing, this is the first one I tried and can’t wait to try more, thank you!
Alina, the breading should not be falling off once the sauce has been added. I would make sure the breading is done thoroughly to avoid this. As for crispness, if served immediately, the chicken pieces should still be nice and crisp. Over time, they will get “soggy” in a sense as they are tossed with the orange sauce.
We did eat them right away after making. Regarding the coating, there was a nice layer on the chicken, I did coat it well, but I did not exactly “press” it in. Could this be the case?
Yes, absolutely. Without that step, the coating is barely hanging on, which as a result, comes apart when tossing it in the sauce.
Delicious! I used less oil and dipped chicken in mix of 2-3 tbsp cornstarch and 1 egg white. Fried in 2 tbsp oil. then added sauce and thickened in the pan. Really good thanks a lot for the recipe!
Hi Chung Ah! I want to try this simple recipe with amazing reviews. Any idea as to what I can sub for the egg coating? I was hoping to find someone with similar problem in reviews but no. One of my boys is allergic to eggs etc. but wants the try the orange chicken his brother raves about. I always thought they used flour – he is allergic to gluten too so happy to see you call for cornstarch. I know the coating is essential but can’t think of a good sub for eggs 🙁 I see you blog – any ideas based on experience? Gelatin maybe – that just came to mind lol but no experience
Kacey, unfortunately I’ve never tried a gelatin coating before and I’d hate to give you a substitution suggestion that may or may not work. I have read though that milk may work as a coating. Hope that helps!
Yum…I used legs & thighs, apple cider vinegar, fresh ginger. Browned the chicken, put it into pan, topped w/sauce and put into 400 degree oven until done…mmmmm…
This is a lovely recipe, thank you! I modded it using a half cup of marmalade instead of the half cup sugar, the half cup OJ, and the orange zest (I made the marmalade so I knew there were equal amounts sugar/OJ, and it had plenty of zest already in it). I also used fresh ginger instead of powdered. Since the sauce had large chunks of zest, after marinating, I strained it so the sauce would be nice and smooth. I served it with rice and some halved Brussels sprouts (browned in oil, then steamed until soft) that also got a nice dose of the orange sauce. Delicious!