I didn’t eat a whole lot of Chinese food growing up. We lived in a small town in Wyoming and there really wasn’t a whole lot of take out options. It wasn’t until we moved to Las Vegas that I had my first Sweet and Sour Chicken and I was hooked. Being a picky eater it was the only Chinese food I would eat.
I married a guy who is completely adventurous when it comes to food. He’ll eat pretty much anything and try everything new. He grew up eating Chinese food and introduced me to Orange Chicken and other great dishes. Again I was hooked on the Orange Chicken!
It wasn’t until recently that I decided to make it at home. We live in a town right outside of Austin, Texas and there are a few Chinese take out restaurants, but not that are any good. I wasn’t going to let it stop me when feeding my family such a classic American-Chinese cuisine! Ha!
And speaking of picky eaters, if you read my blog you know that I have a certain oldest child who is a picky eater. What goes around comes around, right? I have to say that the very first time I made this dish, I was worried I was going to get flack from him. Actually all of my boys. Everyone sat down at the table for dinner, plates already prepared and we said our dinner prayer. I had forgot something in the kitchen and when I returned to the table, everyone’s chicken was practically gone!
That’s when you know this is a perfect recipe!
Orange Chicken
Printable Version
Serves 4
Ingredients
For Chicken
4 Chicken Breasts
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup corn starch
2 TBSP canola oil
For Sauce
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 TBSP corn starch
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and 3 TBSP corn starch. Set aside.
2. In another medium bowl mix together flour and remaining corn starch.
3. Heat a large sauce pan over medium high heat and add oil.
4. Dredge chicken pieces into the flour mixture and shake off excess.
5. Place chicken into hot oil and brown on all sides about 2 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through.
6. Remove chicken from pan and place onto a clean plate.
7. Place pan, browned bits and all, back onto the medium high heat and pour orange sauce in. You might need to give it another stir before adding it.
8. Using a whisk, stir the sauce while it comes to a boil and starts to thicken. If it’s too thick, add a little water until desired consistency. About 2-3 minutes at most.
9. Once the sauce has thickened, stir in sesame seeds and add the chicken back in. Toss to coat.
10. Serve chicken over cooked rice and garnish with sliced green onion and sprinkle with more sesame seeds.
This recipe is linked up at – Weekend Re-Treat, The Creative Exchange, The Party Bunch, Lovely Little Link Party, What’s Cookin Wednesday,
