Learn to make the best orange chicken in just 5 easy steps! Stick around and you’ll be surprised by the result!
Orange Chicken Recipe
Serving: 2 to 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Marinate time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
For the chicken and marinades:
1 ½ pounds chicken breasts, skinless, cut into 1-inch pieces
Pinch of salt
Pinch of white pepper
1/2 tablespoon rice wine
1 egg white
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
For the batter
1 ½ cups cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 large egg
1 tablespoon oil
3/4 cup water
For the sauce:
1 cup of orange juice
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of ketchup
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of sugar
½ teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
3 tablespoons of water
For frying and garnish:
4 cups oil, for frying
2 tablespoons scallions, chopped
1 large orange, thinly sliced, optional
Orange Chicken Instructions
1. To marinate the chicken:
- In a bowl, add the chicken breast and salt, and combine until the chicken has fully absorbed the salt. Then, add the white pepper, rice wine, egg white, and cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of water). Mix well and marinate for 10 minutes.
2. To make the sauce:
- In a bowl, combine the orange juice, soy sauce, ketchup, rice vinegar, sugar, and orange zest. Whisk the ingredients together until well combined.
3. To make the batter:
- In a mixing bowl, add the cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, egg, oil, and water inside. Mix until smooth.
- Then, transfer the marinated chicken to the mixture and combine.
4. To fry the chicken:
- In a large pot over high heat, pour the oil inside. Heat it to 350°F or 177°C. Deep fry the chicken in batches for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove the chicken. Do the same with the rest.
- Heat the oil to 375°F or 191°C. Return the chicken fry for 1 minute until crispy. (Tada! Double frying will solve the problem of soggy chicken. Here’s the logic behind it. When the exterior temperature is hotter than the interior temperature, it forces the oil from the inside to come out.)
- Remove and drain the chicken.
5. To make the orange chicken:
- In a pan over medium heat, pour in the sauce and bring it to a simmer. Then add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce (1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of water). Stir until it’s thickened.
- Then, transfer the fried chicken inside. Stir and coat the chicken with the sauce. Garnish it with the scallions. Enjoy!
