Orange Chicken Recipe

So what’s your favorite mall food?

I’m not a huge fan of the mall food court but if I find myself starving or the kids are starving during a trip to the mall my first choice is always the food booth with the orange chicken!

I love taking my favorite “eating out” foods and trying to create them at home.  One day I was over at Tasty Kitchen Blog, one of my favorite recipe sites and  I found an Orange Chicken recipe.  This version is better than the mall version.  The flavor is perfect but there is less breading and more chicken.  There is nothing worse then biting into a piece of orange chicken and all you find is breading – no chicken!

This version is lightly breaded in flour and then fried in oil quickly. Even though it is fried it does not have a heavy, greasy taste or feel to it.

The sauce which uses orange juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, brown sugar and various seasonings has a nice sweet tangyness to it.

So next time you’re craving mall food, no need to head to the mall.  Just stay home and enjoy!

Orange Chicken Recipe
Chicken-

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-1/2” cubes)
• 1 ½ C all purpose flour
• 1 eggs (beaten)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• Oil (for frying)

Orange Sauce-

• 1 ½ C water
• 2 Tbsps orange juice
• ¼ C lemon juice
• 1/3 C rice vinegar
• 2 ½ Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp orange zest (grated)
• 1 C packed brown sugar
• ½ tsp ginger root (minced)
• ½ tsp garlic (minced)
• 2 Tbsp green onion (chopped)
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp water

Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg mixture and shake in flour mixture to coat. Deep fry chicken in batches at 375 degrees in a deep fryer (or use a wok) until completely cooked.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.
Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions

Tags: chicken, chinese food, food, main dish, orange