Crispy Orange Chicken Recipe - Home Chef (2024)

FAQs

What is the orange chicken sauce made of? ›

How to make the orange chicken sauce. The orange sauce is made from a mixture of the orange juice and zest, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and rice vinegar. This is bubbled up in the wok until slightly thickened. The chicken is then added back in, and tossed in the sauce until fully coated.

Whether Orange Chicken is baked or fried, it can get soggy if left to sit for too long once combined. To prevent soggy chicken, serve immediately or store the chicken and sauce separately, then combine when reheating.

To thicken the sauce, pour it into a small saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water to make a cornstarch slurry. Once the sauce starts to bubble in the pan on the stovetop, add the cornstarch slurry and stir to combine.

Tangerine chicken tastes fresh and spicy, but orange chicken tastes sweet and sour. Orange chicken is crispy cooked in a sweet and little spicy orange sauce. The sweetness of orange chicken was introduced to cater to American tastes.

Rather than using orange juice and orange zest, we use rehydrated dried aged tangerine peels to impart a distinctive zesty and citrus flavor to the dish. If you can find dried tangerine peels in your neighborhood Asian market, definitely grab a package.

The original “Orange Chicken” had no breading around each piece of chicken and the sauce was made of leftover orange or lemon peels cooked with soy sauce, chilis and garlic. The sauce had a citrus element, but it wasn't as pronounced or sweet like you would think of today.

Once you sear all the chicken pieces, it's best to let the chicken cool off for 2 to 3 minutes first. The crust will crisp up a bit more during this time. And the crust will hold up to the sauce better without turning soggy immediately after you add the liquid ingredients.

The chicken in many orange chicken recipes is usually battered and fried before adding the sauce. So you end up having a dish that is high in calories, fat, and sugar. It gets worse when you insist on eating it with sauce drippings and rice, which itself is highly caloric as well.

Place your chicken in an ovenproof dish and set your oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake until the chicken is heated through, usually 15–20 minutes. This method might take longer than the microwave, but it tends to keep the chicken more crispy.

Mix 2 tablespoons (16 g) of flour with 1/4 cup (60 mL) of cold water, then add to your sauce and stir over medium heat until it thickens. Alternatively, create a sauce-thickening roux by whisking 1 tbsp (15 g) of butter and 1 tbsp (9 g) of salt together, then adding the mixture to your sauce.

Can you buy orange sauce? ›

A delicious ready made orange sauce to go with duck, game, chicken and pork.

Another interesting fact, most Chinese people still prefer to use potato starch to thicken the sauce. If it's in Taiwan, Taiwanese people use sweet potato starch and potato starch to thick the sauce and cook other food.

While the orange chicken is one of the most famous Chinese dishes in America, it is a purely American invention, with no authentic Chinese resturants or restaurants in China serving this dish.

Key Differences. While both Orange Chicken and General Tso's Chicken are delicious in their own right, there are some clear differences that set them apart: Flavor: Orange Chicken is sweet and tangy, while General Tso's Chicken is savory and slightly spicy.

One distinct characteristic of orange chicken is that it is sweet, and that comes from the addition of brown sugar (and honey), which gives the sauce it's sticky, caramelized glaze. The addition of brown sugar in many Asian recipes helps to balance out sour flavors and spices added to the dish.

Duck sauce (or orange sauce) is a condiment with a sweet and sour flavor and a translucent orange appearance similar to a thin jelly. Offered at American Chinese restaurants, it is used as a dip for deep-fried dishes such as wonton strips, spring rolls, egg rolls, duck, chicken, fish, or with rice or noodles.

Ingredients: dark meat chicken, water, sugar, distilled vinegar, modified food starch, corn starch, potato starch, contains less than 2% of: wheat, orange extract, caramel color, salt, garlic, phosphoric acid, rice wine, sesame oil.

Orange chicken is a popular item at Chinese restaurants. It consists of small cubes of chicken that are breaded, pan-fried, and coated in an orange sauce. The orange sauce is sweet with a little tang and a hint of spice. It's mainly known for its orange flavor (as you can guess from the name).

The chicken itself is also different, as orange chicken is made with dark meat chicken ( chicken thighs) and sweet and sour chicken is made with chicken breasts and fried in a batter that yields a puffy and airy crust.