Healthy Chinese Orange Chicken, a delicious Asian recipe that is ready in about 15 minutes. 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!
HOW TO make CHINESE ORANGE CHICKEN
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.
- 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
TIPS TO GET THE BEST ORANGE CHICKEN
I can’t even remember the last time l had a Chinese take-away, it must have been a while back. I do remember though that the chicken was pretty greasy. Why would you use tons of oil anyway? The chicken can cook perfectly well with just a tablespoon at the most.
Just flip it on the other side after 2-3 minutes, and it cooks through super quickly, especially if the chicken pieces are smaller. 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. For some more Asian deliciousness, why not try my Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken with Vegetables?
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Healthy Chinese Orange Chicken, a delicious Asian recipe that is ready in about 15 minutes. Tender chicken pieces coated in a zesty and light orange sauce, and served over a bed of rice, what a treat!
- 2 medium chicken breasts
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 cup corn flour
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 spring onion
- 1 tsp sesame oil
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Dice the chicken breasts and place them into a large bowl,
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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.
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Add the marinade to the chicken pieces together with half of the amount of garlic and ginger and leave to marinate for 5 minutes,
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Discard of the marinade, and coat each piece of chicken with corn flour, shaking off any excess flour.
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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.
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Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside.
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Cut the spring onion finely, and add the white part to the wok together with the remaining garlic and ginger.
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Stir fry for about 30 seconds, then add the chicken back.
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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.
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Add it to a bowl together with the remaining orange juice, soy sauces, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Mix well to combine.
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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.
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Serve with the green bits left from the spring onion.
Enjoy! 🙂
