Description
This Air Fryer Orange Chicken is a crispy and delicious easy dinner perfect for a weeknight meal. It offers a healthier homemade orange chicken option your family will love. Enjoy crispy orange chicken with a sweet tangy sauce anytime.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb chicken thigh boneless & skinless cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 1 inch ginger grated
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 egg white
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1.5 cup potato starch
- neutral oil spray I recommend avocado oil
- 2 tbsp neutral oil I recommend avocado oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil optional
Instructions
- Combine chicken pieces with salt white pepper soy sauce shaoxing wine grated garlic grated ginger sesame oil and egg white in a bowl then mix to coat evenly and let marinate for at least 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl mix light soy sauce orange juice orange zest chicken stock brown sugar and cornstarch until sugar and cornstarch dissolve then set aside.
- Spread potato starch on a plate and coat chicken pieces lightly shaking off extra then spray air fryer tray with cooking spray place chicken in a single layer and spray top of chicken then air fry at 350F for 10 minutes.
- Flip chicken spray the other side then air fry at 400F for 8 minutes until chicken is crispy and cooked through reaching 165F.
- Heat neutral oil in a pan or wok over high heat then sauté garlic and ginger for 15 seconds.
- Pour in sauce and stir quickly until thickened about 1 to 2 minutes then mix in vinegar.
- Add chicken back to pan toss to coat and finish with teaspoon of sesame oil. Serve with rice and enjoy.
Notes
- Cut the Chicken into Uniform Pieces and Coat Thoroughly – Whether you use chicken breast or thigh make sure to cut your chicken into uniform pieces to ensure that your Orange Chicken cooks evenly
- Individually coat the chicken pieces in the dry seasoning mix so that there are no dry spots
- Be sure to pack the dry mix in to the chicken with your hands I like squeezing it in to properly coat the chicken so the batter sticks
- Secret Ingredient – Potato Starch – Potato starch is my secret ingredient to getting the same crispy Orange Chicken batter in the air fryer WITHOUT having to deep fry This is because potato starch has larger granule sizes than other starches such as cornstarch which helps it get a crunchier texture
- However to get this crunchy texture you will not want to skimp on your oil spray read below Be generous with the oil spray as it’s the only source of fat in this recipe Don’t skip spraying the air fryer tray or sheet BEFORE cooking the chicken – this will help prevent the chicken pieces from sticking
- Generously and thoroughly spray the chicken pieces to allow the potato starch coating to cook nicely otherwise the chicken will look and taste dry Don’t forget to give the chicken a good second spray again when air-frying for the second time Double Air Frying is KEY After A LOT of recipe testing the best results for Air Fryer Orange Chicken involved DOUBLE FRYING in the air fryer – once at a lower temperature for a longer period of time to avoid burning then at a higher temperature for a shorter period of time to get the batter crispy Store Air Fryer Orange Chicken in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days I like reheat it in the air fryer at 350F for 6–8 minutes or until warmed through and crispy You can also reheat in the oven at 350F for 10–15 minutes until warmed through If you don’t care about restoring any crispiness you can reheat in the microwave until warmed through
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 558kcal
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 1034mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g + 9g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 64g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 27g
- Cholesterol: 112mg