Skip to footer

Chinese orange chicken

Orange juice and zest gives this easy chicken dish a bright citrus flavor.

|
The Pastry Chef's Baking
Juice and zest gives this Chinese orange chicken dish a bright citrus flavor.

This is another easy chicken dish. Well, easy in terms of putting the marinade together. The biggest pain with these types of recipes is the breading and frying of the chicken. I admit I have no patience for it.

If you want it somewhat healthier, you can either bread and bake it instead of frying it or leave off the breading altogether, stir fry the chicken then add the marinade. I did it as the recipe instructed and it was a pain with all the breading and frying. Not the recipe's fault, my patience just doesn't stretch that far.

I don't think my efforts would make Panda Express' Orange Chicken lose any sleep about competition but for an "easy" orange chicken dish, this was pretty tasty. I like to zest the oranges before I squeeze them for the juice then garnish with orange zest instead of sesame seeds and green onion but you can do either or both.

Chinese orange chicken
From Damn Delicious

1-1/2 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
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Marinade
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1. Marinade: whisk together chicken broth, orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, orange zest, Sriracha, ginger and white pepper in a large bowl.

2. In a gallon-size Ziploc bag, 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; discard the marinade.

3. 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.

4. Working one piece at a time, dip the chicken into the eggs then dredge in remaining 1 cup cornstarch, pressing to coat.

5. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Working in batches, add the chicken and dry until golden brown and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Discard excess oil.

6. Toss chicken with the marinade, garnish with sesame seeds and green onion, if desired. Serve immediately.

Related post on The Pastry Chef's Baking: Chinese Lemon Chicken

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Chinese orange chicken
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Food/Stir-It-Up/2017/0131/Chinese-orange-chicken
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe