Orange Chicken Recipe, a delicious Asian dish that is super easy to make at home, and much tastier than any takes-away. Tender chicken pieces coated in a zesty and light orange sauce, and served over a bed of rice, what a treat!
Forget about not-so-appetizing take-away dishes, this homemade Chinese orange chicken is all you need. The chicken pieces have a lovely orange touch, and are cooked to perfection. Serve them with rice for the best Asian experience, and enjoy a true delicacy from the comfort of your home.
Orange chicken might sound like a weird combo, but it really is delicious. I have come across many recipes that used egg as well for coating, but when I tested it, I found the chicken to feel heavy and pretty eggy. So, I decided to ditch the egg, and that was a great choice, this really has a fantastic taste.
Stir fries are quick to make, and chicken is the best bet here, it cooks in a few minutes. The Chinese orange sauce is one of a kind, light, zesty, and it coats the chicken pieces perfectly. Let's see how to make it!
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Ingredients needed
- chicken breasts - I used medium-sized ones
- garlic - finely chopped
- ginger paste - or fresh ginger, chopped finely
- fresh orange juice
- cornflour - corn starch
- light soy sauce
- dark soy sauce
- rice vinegar - or just cider vinegar, we need the acidity of a vinegar
- vegetable oil - or any other oil without an odour
- onion
- sesame oil
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- marinade the chicken pieces for at least 5 minutes
- stir fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until the chicken is cooked through
- remove the chicken from the pan and set aside
- stir fry the garlic, ginger and remaining spring onions
- add the sauces, and the corn flour mixture
- the chicken pieces can be added back to the pan, so the sauce can coat them well
- garnish with chopped spring onions
Expert tips
No need to marinate the chicken for too long either, about 5 minutes or so should do, but, of course, you can marinate it for longer. It can make no harm, on the contrary, the longer you leave to marinate, the more flavour you get.
Use freshly-squeezed orange juice if you have oranges, and mix in the orange zest too, otherwise just some store-bought orange juice is absolutely fine. I always buy the one with bits, it feels a bit more like the real deal.
The sauce is always added after the chicken is cooked, never ever at the same time.
If you want some extra kick, adds some chillies to the sauce, either green or red, or some chilli flakes, but that's entirely optional. And that's it, a quick and easy meal that can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.
Other Chinese chicken recipes
Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken with Vegetables?
Chinese Chicken Egg Fried Rice
Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
If you’ve liked my HEALTHY CHINESE ORANGE CHICKEN or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Chinese Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 medium chicken breasts
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 cup corn flour
- 2 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 spring onion
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Dice the chicken breasts and place them into a large bowl.
- Mix together a quarter of a cup of orange juice, one teaspoon of dark soy sauce, one teaspoon of light soy sauce and one teaspoon of rice vinegar.
- Add the marinade to the chicken pieces together with half of the amount of garlic and ginger and leave to marinate for 5 minutes.
- Discard of the marinade, and coat each piece of chicken with corn flour, shaking off any excess flour.
- Heat up the vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat, add the coated chicken pieces and stir fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until lightly brown and cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside.
- Cut the spring onion finely, and add the white part to the wok together with the remaining garlic and ginger.
- Stir fry for about 30 seconds, then add the chicken back.
- To make the orange sauce, mix one teaspon of corn flour with one teaspoon of cold water and stir well to get a lump-free mixture.
- Add it to a bowl together with the remaining orange juice, soy sauces, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Mix well to combine.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken pieces and stir fry for about a minute, so that the sauce can cook and stick to the chicken.
- Serve with the green bits left from the spring onion.
Nutrition
Tasty Eats Ronit Penso
This looks so very delicious and light, unlike the restaurant versions, which are always so heavy and overly sweet. Hope to try it soon. 🙂
Daniela Anderson
Thank you, Ronit! It's indeed a lot lighter, and healthier too. I hope you'll like the recipe if you try it.
cookingwithauntjuju.com
I rarely eat Chinese out and prefer to cook my own healthier recipes. They are not only less greasy but salty as well. I would have to agree orange versus sweet and sour would be a toss up!
Daniela Anderson
Thank you for your comment! Indeed, they both are so delicious. Homemade food is the best! 🙂
Gouchis Girl
This looks, and sounds DELISH! You can't beat anything that comes together in under 30 minutes and I know that it tops the healthy list over regular take out. Beautiful job 🙂
Daniela Anderson
Thank you for your lovely comment 😊
Jhuls
I don't think it's a good idea to visit this post while I am so hungry! This looks super delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Daniela Anderson
Thank you 😊
TurksWhoEay
Looks even better than takeout! Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday!
Colleen
Recipes like this make me so happy...I'd much rather make this myself than order takeout! Thanks for sharing on Fiesta Friday! - Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck - Colleen
Chelsea Manning
How much is each serving measurement wise?
Daniela Anderson
Hello! Thank you for your comment! I calculated one chicken breast as one serving, this recipe uses 2 breasts. The nutrition is usually displayed per one serving only. I hope this helps!
Steph
Hi! I'm excited to try this recipe! By corn flour, do you mean corn starch? I have never heard of corn flour before--only corn meal and corn starch. I'm in the US, if that makes a difference?
Daniela Apostol
Hi! Yes, cornflour and corn starch are the same thing, cornflour is the British term.