Ever get a real craving for orange chicken, and don’t want to get take-out? In this easy orange chicken recipe, you’ll see that there are no weird ingredients. I dare say that this is a healthy rendition of one of the favourites on an Asian restaurant menu! Even though it’s made with healthy ingredients, the flavour is still amazing! Give it a shot today, and you really won’t regret trying this simple recipe.
Craving Chinese take-out one night led me to do a little experiment in my kitchen. I had some chicken thawing, and decided to make up my own sauce using what I had in the pantry, and guess what? It totally worked! Everyone in the house seemed to enjoy their plate of orange chicken. I promise, you’ll have everything you need in your fridge and pantry to make this delicious dish!
What you need to make easy orange chicken.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I used a two pound package.
- Oranges. You need two. Only one is zested, and both are juiced.
- Honey.
- Crushed garlic. Three to four cloves will do.
- Soy sauce. Feel free to use low-sodium.
- Chili pepper flakes. I used a teaspoon, but you can go ahead and add more or less. Depends on your taste.
- Ground black pepper. No salt. The first batch I made, I added salt to the frying meat, and it was too salty!
- Last but not least, cornstarch. I tossed my chicken in about six tablespoons of cornstarch before frying.
How to make easy orange chicken!
- Cut your boneless, skinless chicken breasts into cubes.
- Place in a medium sized bowl, and measure six tablespoons of cornstarch to mix in with the chicken.
- In a large frying pan, or cast iron skillet, heat up a few tablespoons of fat. I used a combination of butter and vegetable oil. Did you know that when you add an oil to your melting butter, it will not brown as easily? Cool, eh?
- Add chicken to the heated pan, and fry until done in the middle of each piece, and browned lightly on the outside.
- While the chicken is cooking, zest one of the oranges, and juice both of them into a medium bowl. Add three or four crushed garlic cloves, half a cup of soy sauce, one third of a cup of honey, one teaspoon of chili pepper flakes and a few grinds of black pepper. Whisk together well.
- When the chicken is done cooking, turn down the heat to low, and add the sauce.
- Stir frequently until the sauce thickens, then enjoy over rice with a side of steamed broccoli!
Things to keep an eye out for when making orange chicken.
- Cut up the chicken in similar sized cubes. That way they’ll finish cooking around the same time.
- If you have a zester, use that instead of a grater. The zester will make the orange rind smaller and so you’ll get a bite of delicious orange flavour each time.
- When coating the chicken with cornstarch, try and stir it well so that each piece has cornstarch on it. Also, scrape the bowl into the frying pan to add all the cornstarch. Cornstarch is what will give you a bit of crunch on the outside of your chicken pieces, and a thick sauce.
- Don’t add any salt to your cooking chicken or to the sauce. Trust me, I did the first time I made it, and it was too salty!
- You can use whatever fat you like to fry the chicken, but I prefer a little butter and a little oil. The oil prevents the butter from browning, and the butter just tastes good!
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Easy Orange Chicken Recipe
Tangy, orangy, and a bit spicy, this orange chicken is not only healthy, but delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cubed
- 6 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 oranges one zested, both juiced
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 3 or 4 cloves crushed garlic
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp chili pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Cut up chicken into bite sized pieces. Place in a medium bowl.
- Spoon cornstarch onto the chicken, and mix thoroughly.
- Heat a frying pan, and place butter, oil or any kind of fat you prefer into it to melt.
- Add the chicken pieces and fry, browning on all sides and cooking the chicken through.
- While chicken is cooking, zest the orange and juice both your oranges. Place in a small bowl with soy sauce, honey, garlic, chili pepper flakes and black pepper. Whisk well.
- When the chicken is finished cooking, add the sauce to the pan, and stir frequently until it thickens. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Cut up the chicken in similar sized cubes. That way they’ll finish cooking around the same time.
- If you have a zester, use that instead of a grater. The zester will make the orange rind smaller and so you’ll get a bite of delicious orange flavour each time.
- When coating the chicken with cornstarch, try and stir it well so that each piece has cornstarch on it. Also, scrape the bowl into the frying pan to add all the cornstarch. Cornstarch is what will give you a bit of crunch on the outside of your chicken pieces, and a thick sauce.
- Don’t add any salt to your cooking chicken or to the sauce. Trust me, I did the first time I made it, and it was too salty!
- You can use whatever fat you like to fry the chicken, but I prefer a little butter and a little oil. The oil prevents the butter from browning, and the butter just tastes good!
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