Dinner in 20 minutes! Orange Chicken is a classic Chinese Takeout at Home favorite. Battered bites of chicken are coated in a sweet orange sauce, and served alongside steamed white rice.

Orange Chicken - Garnished with Scallions in a Bowl with White Rice

It would be very hard to pick a favorite Chinese takeout dish since there are plenty of deserving contenders, but Orange Chicken would certainly be among the options along with Crispy Orange Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, and Beef and Broccoli. Okay, and also chow fun, kung pao chicken, and a bazillion other Chinese American creations. It’s definitely one of my favorite cuisines.

Orange Chicken is something you can always get as takeout, but I really love making it myself. That way you catch the chicken freshly out of the fryer and eat it when it’s at its freshest.

It’s also nice that you get to use good quality chicken and your own ingredients, so you can ensure there isn’t any MSG, preservatives, or other things you don’t want.

Orange Chicken in a Bowl with Rice and Scallions

The sauce is little more than fresh orange juice thickened and flavored with a handful of ingredients to create something that coats the little bites of chicken.

Halved Orange and Measuring cup on Cutting Board

And the batter is quite simple too. Just a couple of eggs whisked with cornstarch and soy sauce.

Pieces of Chicken Breast in Orange Batter

Because the bites are small, they take about 3 minutes in the fryer, then are ready to be coated in sauce and served with rice.

Chopstick Holding a Piece of Orange Chicken in a Bowl

It’s a lot easier to make than you might first expect.

 

More Chinese Takeout at Home Recipes:

Chopsticks Holding a Piece of Orange Chicken Garnished with Scallions in a Bowl with White Rice

Orange Chicken

Servings: 3
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Dinner in 20 minutes! Orange Chicken is a Chinese Takeout at Home favorite. Battered bites of chicken are coated in a sweet orange sauce, perfect served along steamed white rice.
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Ingredients

For the orange sauce:

  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp rice wine
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger
  • 2 tsp cornstarch

For the battered chicken:

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 lb chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces*
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions 

  • To make the sauce, in a large skillet, whisk to combine the orange zest, orange juice, soy sauce, honey, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, and cornstarch. Bring to a bubble over medium high heat and whisk for a minute or two until it thickens, then turn the heat off.
  • Heat a couple inches of frying oil to 365F. In the meantime, to make the battered chicken, whisk together the eggs until frothy and pale yellow. Then whisk in the cornstarch and soy sauce. Add all the chicken and toss to coat.
  • Fry the chicken in batches, dropping the chicken into the oil one piece at a time (otherwise the pieces will stick together). Fry for 3 minutes until golden brown and fully cooked through. Drain the chicken on paper towels between batches.
  • Toss the fried chicken in the orange sauce, stirring to coat. Serve the chicken immediately, as it will get soggy once coated with the sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

*You can use chicken thighs instead, if you prefer.

Nutrition

Calories: 330kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 38g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 205mg, Sodium: 1224mg, Potassium: 720mg, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 285IU, Vitamin C: 22.5mg, Calcium: 29mg, Iron: 1.6mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Author: Joanne Ozug