Description
Enjoy a delicious Chinese Orange Chicken Recipe with a crispy coating and a homemade chinese orange chicken sweet tangy sauce. This easy recipe includes options for an air fryer chinese orange chicken healthy crispy meal and mimics chinese orange chicken recipe panda express copycat flavors perfectly.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or about 6 thighs or 3 chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (canola sunflower etc.)
- vegetable oil for frying (amount depends on pan size)
- 1 large orange (juice and zest)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large garlic cloves minced or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water (slurry)
- Sesame seeds
- Chopped green onions
- Red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces then whisk flour cornstarch salt pepper egg vegetable oil and water in a bowl until smooth.
- Dip the chicken in the batter coating each piece well then chill the bowl covered for at least 10 minutes or up to 30 minutes.
- Heat vegetable oil to 350°F in a deep pan or fryer then fry the chicken in batches for 2 to 3 minutes turning once until golden brown.
- Combine orange juice zest soy sauce vinegar brown sugar and garlic in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil then adjust flavors to taste.
- Blend the cornstarch slurry then pour it into the sauce stirring till thickened enough to coat a spoon, about 30 seconds to a few minutes.
- Toss the fried chicken in the thick sauce until evenly coated.
- Serve hot with optional sesame seeds green onions and red pepper flakes sprinkled on top.
Notes
- Chicken thighs provide juicier and more flavorful results while chicken breasts can dry out quicker and require careful watching
- Maintaining the oil temperature at approximately 350°F is crucial for crispy chicken
- too low oil temperature results in greasy chicken and too high causes uneven cooking
- Do not overcrowd the fryer to ensure even cooking and maintaining oil temperature
- This dish can be prepared a day ahead and reheated in the microwave making it suitable for meal prepping
- For a gluten-free version substitute all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour and use gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 700mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 85mg