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Chinese Orange Chicken made with crispy fried chicken covered in an authentic orange sauce. The ultimate Chinese Orange Chicken Recipe which is way better than take-out.
My kids are always begging me to take them to grab Chinese food. They are obsessed with orange chicken but I am never really sure what’s in it….especially if they get it from a drive-thru. I wanted to create a version at home, made from scratch, with all-natural ingredients. It still has the same incredible flavor they love. It’s definitely a win-win in our home.
It is wintertime in Arizona which means that the citrus is ripe for the picking. I am surrounded by neighbors who have a plethora of fresh oranges and lemons hanging from their trees. This is the perfect time of year to whip up orange and lemon dishes especially this Chinese Orange Chicken.
This Chinese Orange Chicken is made with boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces, dredged, and then fried until golden and crispy. The orange sauce is divine! It is a sweet orange sauce made with orange juice, vinegar, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, red chili flakes, and orange zest. It is both sweet and spicy and full of flavor.
How to make Chinese Orange Chicken at home:
- Start with boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs. Cut into bite-size pieces. Dredge the chicken in whisked eggs and cornstarch/flour mixture until nice and coated. Get these chicken pieces ready for the oil.
- To make your homemade orange sauce, place orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and red chili flakes in a small pot and cook over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch and water and cook until thickened. Stir in orange zest.
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When frying foods, it is so helpful to use a thermometer. Let the oil heat up to 350 degrees. Once the oil is ready, in batches, cook chicken for about 2 minutes until light golden brown. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Toss fried chicken with the sweet orange sauce. Top with grated orange zest and green onions. Serve immediately.
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Chinese Orange Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 Eggs whisked
- 1/3 cup Cornstarch
- 1/3 cup Flour
- Salt
- Oil for frying
Orange Chicken Sauce:
- 1 cup Orange Juice
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar or White Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce use tamari for a gluten-free dish
- 1/4 teaspoon Ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder or 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
- Orange Zest from 1 orange
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
Garnish:
- Green Onions
- Orange Zest
Instructions
- To make orange sauce:
- In a medium pot, add orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes. Heat for 3 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of water to form a paste. Add to orange sauce and whisk together. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Once the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and add orange zest.
- To make chicken:
- Place flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish or pie plate. Add a generous pinch of salt. Stir.
- Whisk eggs in shallow dish.
- Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then flour mixture. Place on plate.
- Heat 2 -3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Using a thermometer, watch for it to reach 350 degrees.
- Working in batches, cook several chicken pieces at a time. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, turning often until golden brown. Place chicken on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat.
- Toss chicken with orange sauce. You may reserve some of the sauce to place on rice. Serve it with a sprinkling of green onion and orange zest, if so desired.
Video
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Orange Chicken is going to make you forget take-out. Let me know how it turns out by reaching out on instagram at @modern_honey. Have a great night, my friends!
Nice
This is ORANGE ORANGE chicken. I didn’t read the comments before making it so I was very surprised by just how bold the orange flavor of the sauce is but I LOVE it! Orange chicken is not my flavor of choice when I go to American-style Chinese restaurants because to me it’s just sweet chicken, orange flavor not really there. But I love just how orangey this tastes. I used fresh juice and the zest and yum yum yum. My parents enjoyed it as well. If I cook this recipe for my friends I may have to reduce or omit the zest since they like the more typical orange chicken taste. Either way this is a great recipe. Will be using again.
Is there anyway to make this soy free? And gluten free?
Instead of soy sauce tamiri is recommended to make it gluten free or you could maybe try liquid aminos that tends to be a soy free alternative
I would guess the request is in regards to the flour in the coating/breading. Not all GF flour is suitable or ideal for frying. I myself have yet to find one that works well.
Tapioca starch, Bob’s Red Mill GF all purpose flour, and GF bisquick work, but depending on how strict the diet needs to be (sensitivity vs celiacs) you’ll want to make sure proper precautions are taken.
I’m trying this recipe tonight but I’ve successfully fried chicken like this using King Arthur’s one for one gluten free flour.
Rice flour works well , for whole or part.
Coconut aminos will cut the soy
If you dust the chicken with corn starch it still gets crispy but has a thinner coating it also stays crispy even with the sauce on it.
I made this two nights ago and just replaced the soy sauce with tamari and then for flour I used the Bob’s Red Mill GF red label all-purpose flour and it worked *perfectly*. Those were the only changes I made and they crisped right up.
Outstanding and easy. Made this as written using boneless/skinless chicken thighs and freshly squeezed oranges, except added a little more red pepper flakes. (My husband is a spicy guy!) Served it with my version of veggie fried rice and some baby bok choy. My husband, who claims not to like chicken devoured this.
Good recipe thank you! Very delicious with tofu.
WOW!! Best orange chicken ever! Added too much ginger , just made it better I’ll be back for more recipes
I oven fried my chicken to avoid the frying in oil. Since I made a small amount of chicken I cut the orange sauce in half, but found that too skimpy on the sauce for my preference. I used fresh garlic, fresh ginger and followed the recipe Enjoyed the flavors and will make again.
I too want to avoid frying. How did you ‘oven fry’? Did it get crispy? Hope you answer soon. Nancy
Sooo, you did NOT follow her recipe as stated and then you thought it was acceptable to leave a less than 5⭐️ review? Why would you do something that could potentially bring down her star rating when you’re not even rating her recipe as it is written? You could have shared your thoughts without leaving a ⭐️Rating AT ALL, which is what a person should do if they haven’t made the recipe yet or if they did not follow the recipe. It’s a very simple concept, unfortunately, it seems VERY DIFFICULT for most people to grasp.
Have you by chance seen all of the 5⭐️ Ratings this recipe has received? How about all of the people boasting about how INCREDIBLE this dish is, SOOOO much better than take~out or their local Chinese Restaurants Orange Chicken, have you read any of those? Countless people have rated THIS RECIPE a 10/10, I think that says a WHOLE LOT about a recipe, don’t you?
In the future it would be wise if you either leave off your “⭐️Rating” or say nothing about a recipe UNLESS you actually followed the recipe exactly AS STATED and have comments to share.
Do you use ground ginger?
My husband and I loved
this recipe.
He even posted a picture to our friends which was a great compliment to me.
I never leave reviews but this was so delicious I have to, I didn’t need to change a thing. 10/10