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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This looks great! Can’t wait to try it.
Any idea how many calories are in it?
X
Please use online resources such as Calorie Count to obtain nutritional information.
KARLA — I use vinegar in many things and do not find it leaves an odour or affects the taste. I add it to water when poaching eggs but the finished products has no vinegar taste. I use vinegar in my laundry as opposed to fabric softener and again, no scent remains. I also wash all my floors with vinegar as it is not injurious to my pets’ paws, unlike bleach or other disinfectants.
Is it ok to use all purpose flour rather than cornstarch? How will that be different? I am also not a fan of vinegar because I don’t like the way it smells so I wonder if this recipe smells like vinegar once it’s done. I’ve always wanted to make this recipe but afraid to try it because of the vinegar in it but I would not mind it having vinegar if the dish will not smell like vinegar once its done. Thanks
I highly recommend using cornstarch because it thickens faster and leaves virtually no taste behind unlike all-purpose flour. This dish does not smell like vinegar but I cannot speak to how sensitive your sense of smell is for this ingredient. I hope that helps!
My mandarin tree is leaning under the weight of all the fruit. I have tried juicing and freezing but find the juice bitter when I defrost. Was looking for recipes to use some of the juice and hit on this. A true winner. The flavour was so good and can’t wait to make again. I am always looking for recipes using fresh mandarin juice so all suggestions appreciated.
Came across your recipe this evening. Looked divine. And I have no idea what panda express is. I had all ingredients on hand except I used chicken thighs. Also am marinating overnight only because it’s almost 9 pm. I wanted to ask you though if it would be ok to marinate the chicken that long and fry it in a deep fryer?
It’s definitely fine to marinate for that long – the longer the better! And I don’t see a problem with using a deep fryer. Hope that helps!
Made this tonight using organic ingredients… Everyone was happy even the picky one!! Thank you!
My Fav Orange chickens.. Never tried at home… worth trying recipe. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Is the 1/4 teaspoon ginger supposed to be fresh grated or from a jar? Thanks!
The 1/4 teaspoon ginger refers to dried ginger powder. Hope that helps!
Thanks I kind of I figured that, by the small amount, but only had fresh ginger root on hand. So I used about a tablespoon of that zested/grated and it came out fine! Next time I am going to try spraying with a touch of olive oil then baking on a pyramid silicone baking mat for less fat. Hopefully easier cleanup too. 🙂
No hot sauce in the house…adding a few red pepper flakes..
Making it tonight,,,stay tuned
Is there anything I can use instead of the Sriracha, I don’t have any on hand and don’t feel like going to the store :).
Do you have any other kind of hot sauce on hand? You can also omit the Sriracha completely. It just won’t have that hint of spiciness.
I substituted Chinese chili pepper sauce since I didn’t have the Sriracha, but it was super yummy, a little too much orange taste though. I will use less zest next time and add more chili sauce. Thanks for the great recipe…my kiddos had 3rds!!!
My Chinese Hawaiian great gramma made Orange Chicken using a box of frozen Banquet Fried Chicken, a Box of Orange Jello, and White Vinegar. I would love to know how to re-create that sauce!
Just had this for dinner. It was delicious!!
Made this last night for a party but I skipped the battering process and simply put the marinated pieces on a baking sheet and baked it at 350. It was very good and many people were asking for the recipe.
Is that supposed to be plain vinegar or rice vinegar, or does it really matter?
Using different kinds of vinegars depends on every recipe. This recipe calls for distilled white vinegar.
Fyi…I made mine with plain rice vinegar and it turned out amazing!
I’m definitely going to try this! I hope it doesn’t have a strong soy sauce-like flavor. It always seems like that’s how all chicken recipies on the internet taste. But something tells me this one is going to be different. I’ll have to come back and comment again after I’ve tried it.Thanks for the great looking recipe!
Please do let me know how it turns out!
Sorry, this is the 3rd time ive tried to get the comments to work, i’m going to make this short! This recipe was amazing! We are going to make it again tonight, I think it will be even better than the first time! here are some pictures of the first time! I doubt you’ll be interested, but feel free to check out my youtube channel if you would like! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-L1hDsn35TQD78gFlYAzRw?feature=watch Thanks again!
Chung-Ah, the flavors of this dish are absolutely wonderful. So many recipes I’ve tried don’t live up to the hype but this one does. I used only a couple tablespoons of oil in a nonstick pan to sauté the chicken so it’s also much healthier than anything that can be bought. Next I’m going to try your sirichia wings recipe but swap out the wings for chunks of white chicken or thighs. Keep on bloggin’ !!
Thank you for the kind words, Connie! Let me know how the Sriracha wings turn out!
I made this tonight for dinner for my picky kids and it was a hit! I loved it more than Panda Express because I knew what was in it and I could actually taste the orange in the orange chicken! I love your food site! Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!
Thank you! And I’m so glad you had a chance to make this! 🙂
Made this tonight. Served it with blanched carrots and broccoli and steamed rice. Complete and utter success! Even my health-conscious brother who cringes at the word “fry” had a second helping!
Thank you! Oh, and forget Panda Express… it turned out better than PF Changs’!
Thank you again.
This is really good if you marinate chicken breast and then throw it on the grill. Save some of the marinade before soaking the chicken in it and brush on while grilling