Description
A delightful homemade Orange Chicken recipe featuring crispy, bite-sized chicken thigh pieces coated in a flavorful orange sauce. This dish balances sweet, tangy, and savory flavors, perfect for serving over steamed rice for a satisfying meal with a copycat Panda Express vibe.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Chicken Batter and Coating
- 90 g (3/4 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 medium egg
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- Pinch salt and pepper
- 90 ml (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) cold water
- 8 chicken thigh fillets (skinless and boneless), chopped into bite-size chunks
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil (for frying)
For the Orange Sauce
- Juice of 2 large oranges
- Zest of half an orange
- 6 tbsp caster sugar (or superfine sugar)
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with 3 tbsp cold water to form a slurry (optional, for thickening)
To Serve
- Boiled rice
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (for garnish)
Instructions
- Prepare the Chicken Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the plain flour, egg, garlic salt, salt, pepper, and cold water until smooth and thick enough to coat the chicken. Add a splash of water if the batter is too thick.
- Coat the Chicken: Place the chopped chicken thigh pieces in a separate bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of cornflour to coat evenly.
- Combine Chicken with Batter: Add the cornflour-coated chicken to the batter and mix to ensure each piece is well coated.
- Heat the Oil: Pour the vegetable oil into a wok or large frying pan and heat over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering.
- Make the Orange Sauce: While the oil heats, whisk together orange juice and zest, caster sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and rice vinegar in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Fry the Chicken in Batches: Fry the chicken pieces in the hot oil in two or three batches for 3-4 minutes each, turning occasionally with tongs until golden brown and cooked through.
- Drain Fried Chicken: Remove the cooked chicken to a bowl lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil between batches. Add more oil if necessary and maintain the oil temperature.
- Prepare the Sauce in the Pan: Carefully discard leftover oil from the wok, reduce heat to medium, and add the prepared orange sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer until slightly thickened.
- Thicken the Sauce (Optional): Gradually stir in the cornflour slurry to thicken the sauce further, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
- Toss Chicken in Sauce: Return the fried chicken to the pan and gently toss using a spatula to coat each piece thoroughly in the orange sauce.
- Serve: Plate the sauced chicken over boiled rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.
Notes
- This recipe is a copycat of Panda Express Orange Chicken, known for its sticky, sweet, and tangy sauce with crispy chicken pieces.
- Frying the chicken in batches ensures it remains crispy rather than soggy from overcrowding the pan.
- The cornflour slurry is optional and used to control the thickness of the orange sauce to your preference.
- Using boneless, skinless chicken thighs provides juicier and more tender chicken compared to breast meat.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 637 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 1621 mg
- Fat: 29 g
- Saturated Fat: 17 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 43 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 50 g
- Cholesterol: 256 mg
