Orange Chicken (Restaurant Style)

Vseward (Chef~V)'s Note:

I have been playing with this recipe for ages. I think this comes pretty close to the orange chicken that I enjoy at my favorite chinese restaurant. Served over steamed rice or fried rice makes it a one-dish meal. I sprinkle chopped green onions on mine. Yum.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Sauce

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup orange juice
• ¼ cup lemon juice , fresh squuezed
• 1⁄3; cup rice vinegar
• 2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

Chicken

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Pour into saucepan water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce; and set over medium-high heat. Stir in orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, red pepper, and chopped onion. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and let cool 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Place chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve remaining sauce. Seal bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add marinated chicken pieces, and shake to coat.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken in skillet, and brown on both sides. Remove to paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
5. Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water, and stir into sauce. Reduce heat to medium low; stir in chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Serve over Fried Rice or steamed white Rice.
7. Enjoy!

Reviews

[KristinM]

Great tasting recipe! I also felt that there was not enough sauce, so next time I will only use about 3/4c to marinate the chicken. I only marinated my chicken for 1 hour and it still had a fantastic taste. I added a splash more orange juice to the sauce right before thickening it in the skillet because I wanted a slightly stronger orange flavor. This recipe will be added to our family's list of favorites!

[un petit chou]

I know this is a silly thing to say considering I am rating ORANGE chicken but it was too "orangey" for me. I think it was the orange zest that overdid it. My DH loved it and the chicken (before the sauce) was very flavorful and tender. The completed dish looked very much like what you would be served at a restaurant. I will make again without the zest and maybe less sugar. We served it with brown rice. Thank you!!

[Lori_W]

I found the look and taste of this recipe to be pretty spot on. If I had put this into take-out boxes I'm sure they wouldn't have known the difference. Will definitely make this again! Thanks for sharing it!