Orange Chicken
This is Mama Miche, and today in my magic kitchen: Orange Chicken
My friend Angela, a true angel on earth, contacted me about a young friend who had relocated to Maryland from Memphis. She is a young artist who plays ocarina and loves to cook. She has many interests that my daughter and I share, too. We all hit it off, and on top of all that, she has been incredibly supportive of the Magic Kitchen. She is a frequent customer, and we have collaborated on making this recipe she loves for orange chicken! So good! So delicious!
Thanks, Athena, for making our kitchen magic.
You should make this! MMMK! Let's eat.
Tools
Large chef knife
Cutting board or mat
Measuring spoon & cups
Wok or deep, large sauté pan
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs
3/4 cup cornstarch or sub with potato starch
1/8 cup orange juice
2 eggs
1/3 cup neutral oil
1/2 tbsp chicken seasoning
Orange Chicken Sauce
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice pulp strained (about 4-5 medium-sized oranges)
2 tbsp white vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 tbsp soy sauce (Note 1)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger or sub ginger powder
2 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup cornstarch or potato starch slurry (Note 2)
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp gochucharu (Note 3)
Dash paprika
Optional Garnish
1/2 green onion finely chopped
1 tbsp orange zest grated
1 tsp sesame seeds toasted
Directions
Prep Time: 60 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes
Prep
Trim the fat and cut the chicken breast/ thighs in half. Angle your knife to 45 degrees and slice the chicken into 1/4 of an inch thick pieces.
Marinade it with 1 tsp chicken seasoning and 1/8 cup freshly squeezed orange juice.
Cover it and Let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Make batter- Crack 2 eggs and beat them well. Mix with cornstarch. Use a fork or whisk and stir it continually. Mix until you get a really smooth, shiny-looking batter.
Coat the chicken with the batter.
Heat the oil on medium heat. Test it by dropping a little bit of batter. If you see it bubbles and floats to the top, you are good to go.
Cook
Fry the chicken for 3-5 minutes or until the surface is getting hard. Doesn't need to be golden brown.
Take out the chicken and let it rest for 10 minutes
Turn the oil up and add all the chicken back for double fry. Keep stirring until you get a light golden color.
Set it aside and make the sauce.
Pour excess oil from your wok.
Add ginger, garlic, and a few shakes of chili powder. Stir until fragrant.
Pour in 1/4 cup of orange juice, 3.5 tbsp of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and 2 tsp of orange zest.
Stir to melt the sugar.
Add honey.
Pour in 3 tbsp of white vinegar. This drops the temperature of the liquid down, and you can add the cornstarch slurry. If you add it while the liquid is boiling hot, it will clump up easily.
Add slurry.
Keep cooking it on medium-low heat.
Taste the sauce and adjust if needed.
Keep cooking it on medium-low heat.
After about 2 minutes, you should reach a bit thicker consistency than syrup. If the sauce is too thin, the chicken will lose its crunchiness.
Turn off the heat and pour all the chicken in. Quickly stir and make sure all the pieces are coated well.
Garnish with some green onion, a few shakes of red chili powder, sesame seeds, and an orange slice.
Notes
I use tamari or coconut aminos
Use a 1.5 to 1 part ratio of corn or potato starch to water.
If you like it spicy, give or take, or leave it out entirely, depending on your heat tolerance.
We doubled the recipe for this video.
