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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For God sakes people…… Sake is RICE WINE
Is it ok to marinate the chicken overnight? The recipe says for at last 30 min but I wanted to be sure overnight isn’t too long.
Because of the vinegar, I do not recommend marinating overnight.
This was absolutley amazing. We almost didn’t make it to putting the sauce on because my husband and I were eating the chicken as it came out of the oil because it was so delicious. Definitely a 10 with or without the sauce 🙂
Oh and I used boneless skinless chicken thighs because it is what I had on hand and it was just as good (I prefer dark meat anyways)
I like Chinese food, hoping to learn more about Chinese food recipes.
Best recipe for Orange Chicken that I’ve ever found. I do like a good orange flavor, so I used the zest of one large orange (added to the sauce) and I added a 1/4 cup of orange marmalade to the sauce before adding the corn starch slurry.
Hi Chunga, 1. Awesome Corgis. 2. I made this orange Chicken recipe, turned out great, tasted awesome and a lot better than any take-out orange chicken, I have ordered. I will make this again, as it was fun and easy to make. Thanks for posting the recipe.
Hello! I am a young 20 something and I stumbled upon your blog on pinterest. I have tried several of your recipes and there is literally nothing I havent loved. I am not a blog person but I always come here to find new recipes to try. Your food is delicious!
Made this about a month ago and took it to my husband at work. Needless to say, all the police officers wanted some and they loved it! The only downside: I didn’t get any. Making it again tonight, but this time, I will definitely keep some out for me. This is an easy, awesome recipe!
OMG! This is absoutely the best orange chicken I have EVER had..And it’s the only one I have made at home that is actually out of this world. Simple ingredients, simple prep, outrageous results! Family was very HAPPY, HAPPY. Will be repeated on a monthly basis.
Tried this last night! It was awesome!! It takes a long time from start to finish but it was well worth it. I made it with a fried rice recipe I found on pinterest. Next time I will add 4-5 tbl of the sirracha. (I put 3 tbl, wasn’t spicy enough for us!)
awesome recipe, thank you for sharing!!!
Can I use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead?
Yes, absolutely.
Can you freeze sauce?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Would I be able to substitute any hot sauce for Sriracha? Or do you think the Sriracha gives it a distinct flavor?
I find that this recipe is best when Sriracha is used rather than any other kind of hot sauce.
Hi, this is probably a stupid question but could I substitute lemon for the orange ingredients? Just to change up the citrus flavor? Thanks.
Yes, absolutely!
Made this tonight for dinner, and it was amazing! It’s a little finicky to coat the chicken, but well worth the time and effort. The fresh orange juice gave the sauce such a nice taste.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I made this recipe awhile back and everyone absolutely loved it. Now I have a troop of Girl Scouts coming over Friday night who want to learn how to cook Chinese food (not really in my wheelhouse, if I’m being honest) so I’m going to teach them how to fix this dish. We’re going to try it sans the coating, but I’m sure it will still be delicious.
Am I the only one who messed up this recipe? I have never cooked with cornstarch before and I was a mess and so was the dish. Boo. The chicken wasn’t as crispy as it looks in your photo and I had lumps of the cornstarch water mix in the marinade. Any tips? I am usually a good cook. I know one of the issues was that I was trying to hurry and didn’t dip the chicken pieces one by one, like you suggested. Oops. I have made so many of your recipes though and my hubby and I have loved every single one of them!!
Alima, it is best to take the time to dip the chicken as best as you can or else you will end up with soggy, non-crisp chicken pieces!
As far as marinating the chicken what’s the longest time you recommend?
I would say about 8 hours (or overnight).
I prepared this for dinner today, and I agree with everyone’s comments that this recipe is a definite keeper!! I have a question – Does the recipe use white sugar or brown sugar? I thought I had read in one of the comments about using brown sugar. I made my sauce with white sugar.
I did find that there’s quite a bit of preparation time required for this, and the cooking time for my chicken took longer, too. I did use peanut oil, so perhaps this makes a difference. I did achieve a nice golden brown crunchy coating on the chicken, and I drizzled the sauce over it to maintain it.
I’m wondering the best way to reheat the left-over chicken. I kept the sauce in a separate bowl so the chicken wouldn’t get soggy while storing it.
I’ll definitely make again, but will be better prepared for the time allotment that this dish requires.
Thanks again for another winner. I made your pot sticker recipe, and that, too, was super delicious!!
It is best to use white sugar for this recipe (typically a recipe will specifically indicate brown sugar or dark brown sugar). As for reheating, I found that the best way to reheat is by baking the leftover chicken as the microwave can yield soggy results.
Thanks, Chungah. I’m glad I used the white sugar to make the sauce.
I made the left-overs today, before I saw your reply. I ended up heating the chicken in a pan on the stove, and also, heated the sauce in a separate pan. The chicken ended up tasting too dry, and the sauce was thick and slushy-looking. Luckily, it still had a tasty flavor, so we were able to salvage the dinner.
No doubt, this dish tastes its best when eaten right after preparation.
I tried making this today, chicken didn’t get a crust on it like l hope, l didn’t have enough corn starch. So, l threw the entire marinade into my wok, due to the raw chicken l simmered sauce for 10 minutes then added the chicken. It was the most moist, tender chicken l’ve ever tasted! The sauce is creamy & delicious, paired great with brown rice. Happy accident 🙂