‘Orange Chicken’ a dish that transcends culinary boundaries. It’s a beloved staple on takeout menus, offering a comforting embrace after a long day. Yet, it can also be the star of an upscale fine dining experience. In this culinary exploration, we’ll uncover a version of Orange Chicken, from its humble origins to its place of honor in both casual dining and high-end cuisine. 

The dish typically features battered and deep-fried pieces of chicken coated in a sweet and tangy orange-flavored sauce. In this version we would be using ‘Mandarin” orange as the sauce base. Mandarin by nature are sweeter and have a more pronounced orange flavor. I use this variety to reduce the amount of sugar/honey I put into the sauce owing to its sweetness. For balancing the flavor, a chili element could be added based on preference. Now without delaying further, lets get into the details.

PREP TIME

1 hr 

COOK TIME

15 minutes

CUISINE

American Chinese

Recipe Essentials

For Battered Chicken :

• 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 whole egg and 1 egg white, whisked
• 1/4 cup Cornstarch
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour, (I use potato starch many a times as I prefer the texture of the batter)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup milk/buttermilk, for marinating the chicken.

For Orange Sauce :

• 4 Mandarin Oranges, juiced and zested ( some finely zested and some thickly peeled)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tsp brown sugar or honey, adjust the amount based on sweetness of the orange
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp Cornstarch
• 1 tsp red chili sauce, any variety is okay
• 1 tbsp Chilli Crisp
• 2 Spring Onion, finely chopped

Directions

• Marinate the chicken pieces in the milk/buttermilk for at least an hour. This ensures the chicken is soft and retains its moisture even after deep frying.
• After an hour, heat the oil for frying. 350 degree F is a sweet spot for frying the perfect battered chicken. 
• While the oil is heating up, discard the liquid from marinade and add salt, garlic powder and pepper to season the chicken. Season the whisked egg as well.
• Mix together the flour and cornstarch and place them in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
• Dip chicken pieces into egg mixture and then flour mixture, lightly discard extra flour and place them on plate.
• Deep fry the pieces once the oil is appropriately hot. It should take around 2 minutes for the chicken to cook through. Make sure not to overcook the chicken as the chicken will also be tossed into the sauce and cooked. 
• Place the fried chicken on Kitchen towel to remove the extra oil.
• Now moving on to sauce, mix the orange juice, soy sauce, honey/sugar, red chili sauce, rice vinegar. Add salt according to taste. 
• Toss in the all the grated orange zest and some of the peel to the sauce mix.
• Heat oil in a wok and add ginger, garlic, spring onion whites and some long orange peel.
• After few seconds add the sauce mix and let it simmer for a few minutes.
• Add the chili crisp to the sauce. It adds a layer of umami to the sauce which make it highly flavorful. 
• Mix the cornstarch and water to make a slurry and add it to the simmering sauce. 
• Once the sauce starts to thicken, add the fried chicken and toss to make sure it’s abundantly coated in the sauce.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onions  to serve. You can add some orange peel as garnish if prefered. 
• Serve with steamed rice, noodles or devour as it is !

Flavorful Footnotes

• A vegetable-chicken combo can be recreated by adding veggies like bell pepper, broccoli or mushroom etc. with the chicken and sauce.
• Vegetarian version with extra firm tofu, mushroom or baby corn can be made.
• Other proteins like shrimp, beef or pork can be used in place of chicken if preferred. Keep in mind the varying cook time for each protein 
• Tamari can be used instead of Soy sauce for a gluten-free version.
• Red Chili sauce maintains the color of the orange chicken, also adding an extra kick of heat. Its optional, so feel free to skip for a milder version. 
• Chicken can be Air Fried instead of deep frying. Give extra attention to discard the excess flour during egg-flour dredge.
• Fry the chicken in small batches without overcrowding the pan.
• Serve immediately for the chicken to not turn soggy.