Our spicy & crispy Chinese orange chicken ticks all the boxes for us! The sauce is the star of the dish, and it's perfectly sticky, sweet and citrus-y. We love to eat it with a steaming bowl of white rice, the perfect level of comfort made right at home. Easier than takeout!
What is spicy & crispy Chinese orange chicken?
This spicy and crispy Chinese orange chicken is a staple in the Chinese American cuisine. This dish was first invented by Andy Kao, Panda Express' Chef, and has since became a classic dish. This dish consist of perfectly fried bite-size pieces of chicken, coated in this sweet orange sticky sauce that makes it so addicting! It's savory, sweet and spicy. We love to have this for lunch or dinner, when we're craving chinese takeout but don't feel like ordering out. This has best of both world, restaurant flavors, but made right out of your kitchen!
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Which chicken cut to use
We personally prefer to use boneless chicken thighs because it's more tender, juicier, and more forgiving if you over cook it. However, for a healthier alternative, chicken breast will work too. It would also be delicious with fried tofu, as a vegan option!
How to make your chicken crispy
This recipe is quite simple and easy to achieve, but here's a few tips to ensure the best crispy fried chicken.
- Use medium high heat. If the heat is too low, the fried chicken won't be as crispy.
- Cook until golden brown.
- Chicken needs to be moist when coating with cornstarch or it might not stick well when frying.
- When frying the chicken, do not stir around. It might be tempting to stir around, but the skin might fall off.
All about the orange sauce
The sauce is definitely the star of this dish. To get that strong orange flavours, you must use both fresh orange juice AND orange zest. The orange zest holds so much flavour and aroma, it'll take your orange sauce to the next level. We used a large navel orange since it's commonly sold in grocery stores and we find it has the perfect balance between sour and sweet.
The secret to achieve the right sticky, luscious texture of the sauce, is the cornstarch. If you're familiar with Chinese cooking, then you know cornstarch is a pantry staple. The amount of cornstarch to use depends on your preference. You can add more if you want a stickier, gooey sauce. Or less if you want it to be more runny. We suggest adding 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch (diluted in 1 tbsp of water) first and go from there. If it's too gooey then you can always thin the sauce by adding warm water one tablespoon at a time until you get the consistency you like!
How to serve spicy & crispy Chinese orange chicken
We love to serve this spicy and crispy Chinese orange chicken with a bowl of hot steamed rice. It never fails to comfort us on a gloomy day. It would also be delicious with a side of stir-fried Chinese green beans with garlic and a bowl of tomato egg drop soup.
Ingredients
Crispy Chicken
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs is our protein of choice, as it is more forgiving than chicken breast,
- Egg, cornstarch, all purpose flour will create the coating of the fried chicken,
- Low-sodium soy sauce for an extra umami flavor,
- Oil for frying.
Orange Sauce
- Orange juice and orange zest are the king of the sauce. Make sure to use freshly squeeze orange juice and do not skip on the zest,
- Low-sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic to create the amazing flavors of the sauce,
- Sambal oelek or chilli sauce of your choice, but you would like your sauce to not be spicy, skip this step,
- Water to create the sauce,
- Cornstarch and water for the cornstarch slurry to create the sticky sauce consistency,
- Green onions for topping.
Instructions
Crispy Chicken
Marinate chicken. In a mixing bowl, combine the cubed chicken thighs, eggs, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and soy sauce. Mix well and set aside.
Coat chicken. Whisk together the all-purpose flour and the rest of the cornstarch and add them into the bowl marinated chicken. Combine well. Chicken pieces should be covered with sticky batter.
Let it fry! Fill a deep frying pan up to about 1 inch deep with canola oil and heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry for about 2-3 minutes and remove from oil. Place chicken on drying rack for about 5 minutes. Fry the chicken another time on high heat for another 2 minutes or until golden brown and fully cooked. Remove from oil and let cool on a drying rack.
Orange Sauce
Prep the sauce. To make the sauce mixture, in a mixing bowl, combine the orange juice, orange zest, low-sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sambal oelek chilli sauce, 7 tbsp of water, and garlic until well mixed and the brown sugar is well dissolved.
Prep the cornstarch slurry. Combine 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water in a small bowl and mix well until there are no more lumps in the mixture. Set aside.
Cook the sauce. Pour sauce mixture into a pan and heat over medium high heat. Once the sauce boils, add the cornstarch slurry while stirring the sauce continuously, making sure to break any lumps that may form. Let sauce come back to a boil and thicken, and remove from heat. If the sauce becomes too thick, add one tablespoon of water at a time to thin the sauce until you reach the desired consistency.
To assemble dish
Place fried chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl, and pour the orange sauce over the chicken. Toss until every piece of fried chicken is coated with the sauce and top with chopped green onions.
Spicy and Crispy Orange Chicken
Ingredients
Crispy Chicken
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- oil for frying
Orange Sauce
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 1/2 tsp orange zest grated
- 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar or depending on sweetness of orange juice
- 1/2 tbsp sambal oelek or chilli sauce of your choice
- 7 tbsp water
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp cornstarch for cornstarch slurry
- 2 tbsp water for cornstarch slurry
- green onions chopped, for topping
Instructions
Crispy Chicken
- In a mixing bowl, combine the cubed chicken thighs, eggs, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and soy sauce. Mix well and set aside.
- Whisk together the all-purpose flour and the rest of the cornstarch and add them into the bowl marinated chicken. Combine well. Chicken pieces should be covered with sticky batter.
- Fill a deep frying pan up to about 1 inch deep with canola oil and heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry for about 2-3 minutes and remove from oil. Place chicken on drying rack for about 5 minutes. Fry the chicken another time on high heat for another 2 minutes or until golden brown and fully cooked. Remove from oil and let cool on a drying rack.
Orange Sauce
- To make the sauce mixture, in a mixing bowl, combine the orange juice, orange zest, low-sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sambal oelek chilli sauce, 7 tbsp of water, and garlic until well mixed and the brown sugar is well dissolved.
- To make the cornstarch slurry, combine 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water in a small bowl and mix well until there are no more lumps in the mixture. Set aside.
- Pour sauce mixture into a pan and heat over medium high heat. Once the sauce boils, add the cornstarch slurry while stirring the sauce continuously, making sure to break any lumps that may form. Let sauce come back to a boil and thicken, and remove from heat. If the sauce becomes too thick, add one tablespoon of water at a time to thin the sauce until you reach the desired consistency.
To assemble dish
- Place fried chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl, and pour the orange sauce over the chicken. Toss until every piece of fried chicken is coated with the sauce and top with chopped green onions.
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