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 was absolutely delicious! No additions or substitutions. Served with steamed white rice and steamed broccoli. Much, much tastier than the takeout version! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Delicious! A+
I want to make this tonight but have to white vinegar. Can I use Apple cider vinegar instead?!
Hi! Okay I never leave reviews…but I made this last night and it was amazing!!! I’ve made a couple different versions of orange chicken and this one is by far the keeper! My husband went back for thirds! Lol! Paired this with your quinoa fried rice and wow! Seriously amazing!
With COVID, I am missing going out to restaurants. This is definitely restaurant grade. Thank you so much for the recipe. This is definitely a keeper.
Would this work in an air fryer?
I found the soy sauce to be overpowering. Otherwise my family really liked this. When I make it again, it will definitely be with less soy sauce.
I never leave reviews but this was so delicious I had to. Ended up needing to use pork and it was still amazing!
Fantastic! Sharp, sweet, hot, citrusy, crunchy, moist and light. So so good!!! Followed the recipe to the letter and it was 100% perfect. Definitely making this again, and again and again. Sesame seeds add a real finishing nuttiness to it, would suggest not skipping that if at all possible. Served this with steamed tenderstem broccoli, which paired really well.
I tried this recipe over a year ago and my family loves it!! Too mix it up a bit we add shredded carrots and red or orange bell peppers, they really enhance the flavors!!
This was delicious!! It takes some effort, but it was worth it! I will definitely make it again. Everyone in the family liked it, which is a huge bonus!
Oh my goodness! That is amazing dish! There was not enough sauce so next time will make more, but the taste was to die for. Definitely gets into my cookbook!
Delicious indeed! I made this tonight using the ingredients we had on hand, due to the quarantine restrictions. Had to substitute cuties (clementines) for the oranges, olive oil instead of vegetable oil, omitted the sriracha sauce, and we ran out of corn starch so half the chicken we just ended up dropping in oil without breading. Everything turned out amazing! Served it over rice, and paired it with asparagus sautéed with red peppers, and sweet onions. Thank you for the recipe!
We love this recipe! A dead ringer for the best restaurant Orange Chicken. Our teen started us on this quest and we love this dish! We heat up pork egg rolls from Sam’s on the side, sometimes stir fry some veggies. What a great meal!
This recipe took a fair amount of time but ended up tasting delicious. Not sure if this made a difference but I didn’t have white pepper so ai just used black pepper instead. I fried the chicken on medium high for about 3-4 min on each side. Definitely will be making again my family loved it!!!
Declicious!!!
Excellent. Made as is, no changes except was generous with Sirracha. Threw handful of canned mandarin oranges in sauce right before serving.
That was so so delicious !!!
Thanks so much !
Want to to try so much of your recipies now, thank you
I made this for dinner tonight. It was the best orange chicken I’ve ever had!! It was a great way to use some of the oranges from our tree. I’ll be making this again very soon. Thank You so much for sharing this delicious recipe.
Excellent.
This is a staple in our house now. My son is allergic to egg so I now dip in aquafaba before the cornstarch. I also make loads of the orange sauce/marinade ahead of time and keep it in 8 oz. Portions in my freezer so I can just pull it out when needed. Sometimes we use it on other dishes too. It’s great. Thanks for this epic recipe!
I love the Aquafaba idea! I’m vegan and I’d love to try this recipe using tofu and this would make it perfect! Thanks for the great tip!