OMG you guyyyysssss… Orange chicken has been on my list for-ev-er and I finally made it today. Now I’m kicking myself for not making it sooner because this Easy Orange Chicken recipe is, without a doubt, my new favorite! The chicken pieces are tender, juicy, and lightly breaded, and the sauce is sweet, tangy, and spicy, with a whoosh of fresh orangey citrus flavor. It’s absolutely perfect, and so so fast and easy!
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What Is Orange Chicken?
Orange chicken is a Chinese American dish consisting of juicy chunks of crispy fried chicken drenched in a simple orange chili glaze. The glaze or sauce is sweet, tangy, salty, and savory, hitting all of the best flavors at once! Our orange chicken recipe is modified a bit to make it easier for home kitchens. Rather than deep frying we’ve pan-fried the lightly battered chicken pieces and made the glaze using ingredients that are easy to find at any American grocery store.
Ingredients for Orange Chicken
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy Orange Chicken recipe:
- Fresh Orange: You’ll use both the sweet juice and zest from the orange for maximum orange flavor. The orange perfectly compliments the spicy and savory sauce.
- Soy Sauce: Soy sauce gives the glaze a deep umami flavor, adds salt, and gives the orange chicken sauce a nice deep color.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar balances the acidity and heat in the glaze making the flavor deliciously balanced.
- Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar gives the sauce the perfect tangy flavor without a strong vinegar aftertaste or aroma. You can find rice vinegar in the Asian section of most major grocery stores.
- Ginger, Garlic, and Red Pepper: The perfect balance of spicy and savory comes from a mix of fresh ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps thicken the sauce into a thick, glossy glaze, and it also lightly coats the chicken with just enough of a batter to absorb the delicious sauce.
- Chicken: We used chicken thighs because they’re budget-friendly and always stay juicy and tender, but you can use chicken breast if you prefer. Just be careful not to over cook the chicken breast as it can become tough and dry.
- Egg: Egg combines with the cornstarch to create a light batter that coats the chicken pieces.
- Cooking Oil: A light pan fry gives the chicken just enough texture to stand up to the sauce without having to deal with the excess oil of deep frying. Use a neutral cooking oil that can handle higher temperatures, like canola, peanut, vegetable, or light olive oil.
- Rice and Green Onion: Serve your homemade orange chicken over a bed of hot rice and topped with sliced green onion.
The Pan Fry Method for Easy Orange Chicken
I really don’t like deep fried food, but I can’t deny that a little bit of fried flavor helps dishes like this feel more authentic (and by “authentic” I mean tasting like your local take-out joint), so for this Easy Orange Chicken I used the same pan-fry method that I used for my Easy Sesame Chicken. This method involves coating the chicken pieces in a thin cornstarch and egg batter, then frying with a small amount of oil in a skillet until golden brown. This batter and pan-fry method gives the sauce something to grab onto and really helps flavor the chicken.
Helpful Tips for Orange Chicken
Some people have had trouble with the battered pan fry method, so I want to give you a couple of tips here:
- Make sure your skillet is nice and hot. If it’s too cool the egg batter will slide off the chicken and turn into scrambled eggs in your skillet.
- Don’t stir the chicken too much while it cooks. After adding the chicken to your skillet, don’t touch it until it’s golden on the bottom, then flip, and cook again. Stirring too much can knock the cooked batter off the chicken, leaving you again with separate cooked eggs and chicken.
- If you’re a beginner, use a non-stick skillet. If you prefer to use stainless steel, let the skillet heat up before adding the oil. This helps prevent the egg from sticking.
This cornstarch-egg frying method gives the chicken pieces just a touch of breading and fried flavor while leaving the dish tasting light and fresh. IMHO, it’s absolutely perfect.
What to Serve with Orange Chicken
Here are a few recipes for things to serve on the side with this Orange Chicken recipe: Sesame Cucumber Salad, Crunchy Cabbage Salad, Easy Egg Drop Soup, or Sesame Roasted Green Beans.
That orange zest on top really makes the orange flavor POP! ✨
Easy Orange Chicken
Servings 4Ingredients
ORANGE SAUCE
- 1 large orange ($0.70)
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.28)
- 1.5 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.06)
- 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar ($0.06)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.04)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.02)
STIR FRIED CHICKEN
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1.3 lbs.) ($3.94)
- 1 large egg ($0.27)
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.08)
- 1 pinch salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 4 cups cooked rice ($0.75)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.14)
Instructions
- Remove the zest from the orange using a zester or small-holed cheese grater, then squeeze the juice from the orange. You’ll need about 1 tsp zest and 1/2 cup juice. Combine the juice and 1 tsp zest with the soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, grated ginger, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch in a small sauce pot. Before placing it over heat, whisk until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. Heat the mixture over medium-low until it begins to simmer, thicken, and turns into a glossy glaze (about 3-5 minutes). Remove the sauce from heat and set it aside.
- Use a sharp knife to remove any excess fat from the chicken thighs, then cut them into small 3/4-inch pieces.
- Combine the egg, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk until the mixture is smooth and frothy. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat them in the egg mixture.
- Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Once hot, add 2 Tbsp cooking oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add the chicken, making sure all the pieces are touching the surface and not piled on top of one another. Let the pieces cook until they are golden brown on the bottom.
- Flip the chicken pieces, breaking them apart from one another as you turn them. Let them cook until golden brown on the second side and cooked through (about 5-7 minutes total cooking).
- Turn the heat off under the skillet and pour on the prepared orange sauce. Stir to coat the chicken pieces in sauce.
- Serve the chicken and sauce over cooked rice, garnished with sliced green onions and any left over orange zest.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Orange Chicken – Step by Step Photos
Begin by making the orange sauce so that it’s ready to go when you need it. Zest one large orange, then squeeze as much juice out of it as you can. You’ll need about 1 tsp zest and 1/2 cup juice.
Combine the orange juice and orange zest in a small sauce pot with 3 Tbsp soy sauce, 1.5 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch. Whisk them all together until the cornstarch is fully dissolved before heating. Once combined, heat the sauce over medium-low until it begins to simmer, thicken, and turns into a glossy glaze. This should be relatively quick, or about 3-5 minutes. Turn the heat off and set the sauce aside.
Trim any excess fat from four boneless, skinless chicken thighs, then cut them into 3/4-inch pieces. This was about 1.33 pounds of chicken.
Whisk together one large egg, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, and a pinch of salt and pepper until it’s light and frothy. The mixture may seem dry at first, but the cornstarch will begin to melt into the moisture from the egg.
Add the chicken pieces and toss them until they’re coated in the egg mixture.
Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, then add 2 Tbsp cooking oil and swirl until the skillet is coated. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet so that they are in a single layer and not piled on top one another. Let them cook until golden brown on the bottom, then begin to turn the chicken pieces, breaking them apart from one another and you flip. Let the chicken cook on the second side until golden as well and the pieces are cooked through. Try not to stir the chicken too much to avoid the batter falling off. Total cooking time should be about 5-7 minutes.
Turn the heat off, then add the prepared orange sauce. Stir to coat the chicken pieces in sauce.
Garnish the chicken with sliced green onions and any leftover orange zest.
Serve this Easy Orange Chicken recipe over warm cooked rice (preferably jasmine rice) and enjoy!
Just want to comment and let everyone know that you can air fry this! I did 16-20 minutes at 400°F tossing halfway through. Doctored the sauce to my liking. Delicious!
Terrific orange chicken recipe! The sauce tasted amazing and the egg coating gave the chicken a great texture. Only thing I would do different next time is double the sauce mixture so there’s some spare sauce to pour over the rice :)
I like being able to make my own healthy meals. I didn’t care for this orange sauce recipe. Instead I used other dipping sauces. Will make the chicken again.
We both loved this dinner. I liked that it was gluten free so hubby could enjoy it, too. I used liquid aminos as a substitute for the soy sauce, so I might cut back a smidge because the sauce was a little heavy on the salty/soy sauce tasting side (just my preference, nothing against the recipe). Thanks for sharing :)
Forgot to add stars. Love it!!
Love it!
Awful, sauce was gross!!!
Love this recipe!! Very easy to make and everyone loved it!!! After making it the first time, the only thing I omitted was the red pepper flakes and two of the kiddo’s said it was too spicy LOL.. It is still very good!!!
Great recipe! My family loves this dish every time.
Just made this unexpectedly. I typically get the frozen orange chicken they sell at costco and have been needing to make my own. this turned out much better. Somewhat more work than cooking the frozen chicken in the stove and microwaving the sauce however it was justified, despite any trouble.
Delicious.
It even works perfectly with cauliflower instead of chicken. Just double the egg and cornstarch batter. Absolutely wonderful. People-ask-for-the-recipe level good.
I read other comments about rice amounts. I cook 1 cup of uncooked brown rice for 2 people. It’s just enough for 2 hungry adults.
I made this tonight for dinner and paired it with Beth’s vegetable fried rice. The orange chicken is absolutely delicious and very easy to make. I didn’t have rice vinegar, so I used apple cider vinegar instead. This meal is going into the meal rotation. Beth, thanks for helping me become a better cook during quarantine. I’m guilty of gaining the COVID-19. absolutely delicious and ver
Loved this! Very similar to Sesame Chicken, which is one of my all-time favorites – we eat it at least once a week. This has more of a zesty, tangy flavor, as well as a surprising amount of kick from the red pepper. Unfortunately, I have to leave the garlic out of both, since my husband is allergic to it – this significantly changes the flavor, but it’s still delicious. I’m looking forward to making this again and again!
Anyone try this in an air fryer yet? Probably a little drippy, but I wonder if it would work?
I’m living as a full-time volunteer (I’m in an AmeriCorps/Jesuit Volunteer Corps program) living with 5 other volunteers and your website has been a lifesaver! The program gives us a budget of $80/person/month for food so we’ve all been learning to cook on a budget but your site has made it so that my meals always impress my housemates! Thank you for being conscious of the fact that not all tasty recipes need to have 100 different ingredients! Like all the other recipes I’ve made, this one was simple to make yet SO tasty! I subbed chicken breast as that was cheapest but other than that I doubled the recipe and followed it exactly, it was DELICIOUS!!
I’m so glad these recipes are working well for you! :D
Very delicious!
THIS WAS AMAZING. I’ve tried so many of your recipes but this was one of the best yet! Next time I’ll try cutting back on the sugar… it wasn’t too sweet, but I’d love to make it a little healthier.
We made this with a few substitutions to use what we had on hand. We subbed 8oz tempeh for the chicken and subbed lemon + honey for the orange. It was quite tasty. We added a bunch of veggies (cabbage, onion, carrot, etc.) as a side and only used 1 c uncooked brown rice. The smaller portion of tempeh + rice served three but there were only two of us so we’re fighting over the leftovers. It was a nice change up from my normal stir fry. Next time I’ll try the recipe as written.
Would this work OK with breast meat? Not fond of dark meat.
Yes, you can use breast meat. It’s not quite as soft and tender, but you can use it.
Delicious, easy, and budget friendly. I added a tablespoon of orange juice concentrate to the sauce mixture to ramp up the orange flavor.
Delicious!
Really enjoyed this fake-out take-out option! Really zesty/tangy chicken … my only modification when I make it again would be to use low sodium soy sauce. I used regular and it tasted quite salty to my tongue by the end – not bad, but it sort of overpowered the orange to some extent. Really great choice for serving family/friends who are spice-averse :)
Thanks Catherine!
Recipe calls for 1/2 Tbs of rice vinegar, blog text calls for 1 Tbs of rice vinegar.
Sorry about that typo, it’s 1/2 Tbsp!
Sorry but this was a waste of chicken. As much as I wanted it to be, it was just not good!
4 cups of rice is waaaaay too much rice for this recipe. You only need about 2 cups.
Tastes pretty good.
Make sure you used 4 cups of cooked rice rather than uncooked.
Made it the other night and it came out perfect! Loved the recipe as is! Will definitely make this again.
I’ve made this recipe many times and loved it! Do you think it would still be good to substitute the orange with lemon?
Sure! That would probably be very close to lemon chicken. :)
I am allergic to eggs, is there something I can substitute?
Unfortunately I haven’t tried anything in place of the eggs here, so I’m not sure what would work. The eggs are pretty critical to getting the coating on the chicken, so any changes would have a big effect on the outcome. You could always just sauté up the chicken pieces without the coating and add the sauce to that. It would still be very delicious! :)
Okay, thank you!!
Try blending some banana with a little water or soy milk. The banana acts as a good binder, though with less protein. It adds some sweetness, so cut a little sugar.
I prefer coat the chicken breasts with beaten eggs first and then with cornstarch.
“Speaking just for myself” after chicken or fish is deep fried…I don’t like to submerse it all in a sauce. I like the “crunchy” outer coating and by mixing all the meat in a sauce it gets soggy. I would rather have the sauce on the side and use it as a dipping sauce and keep the crunch. Just a personal preference.
Really good! We finished it all. I used chicken breast instead of thigh. My 4 year old said it was too spicy, so next time I would cut the red pepper flake and ginger in half.
Lemon not listed in ingredients list?
Correct, this recipe does not use lemon.
This is the best orange chicken I’ve ever eaten! I love how natural tasting it is, not like the gloppy, neon, super-sugary kind at restaurants. This is so fresh and delicious!
Good, but if increasing the servings you should increase the sauce at a higher rate than the chicken. Triple or even quadruple sauce for double chicken.
Way too sweet for me, not enough of any other flavor. Bummed :(
Made it tonight! So good! Every recipe I’ve tried from you has been so tasty and fairly easy/quick without me changing a thing!
A+ . my family loves this recipe. I double the sauce to have extra for the rice. Super quick, easy, inexpensive and delicious. This will be going into our twice monthly rotation!
THIS. IS. AMAZING. Everyone loves Orange Chicken, but this is the freshest i’ve ever tasted it! I loved knowing exactly what was in my sauce and meat. So delicious, so fresh! My husband rates all my meals (I ask him to) and this was not only just a 10, but an A+. :)
Thank you for this! I was sick with a cold last week and CRAAAAVING orange chicken! I finally gave in and ordered takeout. So disappointing! Dry, overcooked, didn’t even taste like orange. Finally made this Saturday night after we got the groceries and it was delicious and so easy! I love that the chicken can be mixed in the batter bowl because recipes that call for individually dunking chunks of chicken drive me crazy.
I’m sure this recipe is delicious in it’s own right, but if anyone is looking for a healthier version that still tastes great, I made a few substitutions/modifications: coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, clementine juice instead of regular orange juice (takes 4-5 clementines to get 1/2 cup juice), raw honey instead of brown sugar (I only used 1 tbsp of honey, given clementines are slightly sweeter/less bitter than regular oranges that makes up for using less honey), almond meal instead of the cornstarch in the sauce (1 tbsp instead of 1/2), and oat flour instead of corn starch to coat the chicken. I also cooked it in an air fryer (sprayed lightly with EVOO cooking spray and cooked 10 minutes at 400) rather than in a pan. If you don’t have an air fryer I’d highly recommend – they are relatively cheap and work really well for making healthier versions of your favorite fried foods.
While I appreciate the idea of offering variations for this recipe, Andrew’s version isn’t necessarily “healthier”, it is just different. My daughter is allergic to coconut, so it wouldn’t be healthier for her. My friend’s son is allergic to all tree nuts, so the substitution of almond flour would be horrible for him. “Healthier” is a vague term.
1 cup of rice per serving is WAAAAy too much. You all really need to work on your ratios.
Haha, serving size is definitely a matter of personal preference, appetite, and several other factors. Keep in mind that what may be right for you may not be right for everyone else.
It’s 1 cup of *cooked* rice. 1 cup of uncooked rice would definitely be a lot per serving, but 1 cup of cooked rice seems like a normal amount to me.
Didn’t work for me. Might have been the oranges. No pith, but too bitter. Too much soy sauce. Added lots more sugar and juice but couldn’t save it.,
I recently found your site and made Italian Meatballs yesterday and Orange Chicken for dinner tonight. The Orange Chicken was delicious. I followed the tips on coating with egg/cornstarch and frying and had no problem. I used 2 chicken breasts. Next time, I will probably double the sauce so there is some for the rice, too. Thank you!
My kids requested orange chicken for dinner, and we tried this recipe. Mind you, they are used to Mandarin Orange chicken at school. They LOVED this dish (and so did we!). Easy and delicious…2 of my favorite things.
Hi Beth,
Just made it and served for dinner. I can only say one word, SUPERB. The best orange chicken recipe I have tried.
Charles
It tasted exactly like take out… after I made a few adjustments. I doubled the recipe – I was serving 6 – and the soy sauce and orange zest were much too strong. I added another two tablespoons of brown sugar and approximately 1 cup of water. I continued to cook it until it thickened slightly then added it to the chicken to coat and thicken to desired consistency.
My first time making orange chicken and I was really happy with the way it turned out. My family wants it to go in our regular rotation too. I prepared a little more chicken (used breast tenders) and doubled the sauce. I reduced the soy sauce and used a little less than half of the red pepper flakes to suit my family’s tastes. Turned out perfect. Loved the bright orange and ginger flavors.
My husband & I loved this recipe! Invited my brother over the second time I made this dish & he couldn’t get enough! Thank you so much!!
Good recipe, very easy, but the ingredients don’t seem to have the right ratio. I would use a bit less soy sauce and maybe just a bit more brown sugar and ginger
Despite adding the proper amount of cornstarch and turning off the heat before pouring on the sauce, I can’t seem to get the sauce to turn into a thickened glaze in the two times I’ve made this. It tastes good, but it ends up being more of an orange chicken soup. Anyone know what I could be doing wrong?
Yes, it sounds like it just needs a little more heat, actually! It sounds like maybe your cookware is not holding heat, so when you turn the heat off there isn’t enough heat to thicken the glaze. So next time, turn the heat on to medium-low and let the glaze reach a gentle simmer. When cornstarch solutions hit their boiling point that’s when the starch molecules swell and thicken the mixture. The reason I say to turn off the heat is because if there is *too* much heat the sauce can seize up and turn gluey. You can always add more heat to thicken it, but you can’t remove the heat if it’s gone too far. :) I hope that helps and hopefully you’ll have success next time!
Made sat.Dec.30 2017
Did not taste very well…IF I make it again,maybe Leave out zest of orange…the sauce was bitter!
Not good at all!
If it tasted bitter you may have gotten the white of the peel (pith) along with the zest.
If the sauce was bitter, you may have left the pith of the orange on your zest. When you zest, you have to be very careful to never include any of the white stuff, or it will taste horrible.
this recipe is great with orange marmelade and orange zest….fabuloso…….
Orange Chicken is so freaking good. My sister and I doubled the recipe, so we can come back for seconds. It was very easy to make. Thank you for this phenomenal recipe, Beth!!! ☺
Can you prepare ahead and freeze? That is make it into a fast meal?
I haven’t tried the recipe yet but I will!
This one is best made fresh all at once because of the cornstarch. Cornstarch thickened sauces tend to break down after freezing and thawing.
This is by far the best Orange chicken recipe I’ve ever made! My family loved it I’ll definitely be making this again.
Loved this! I made it as-as, and it turned out delicious. We’ve tried at least three orange chicken receipt over the years, and this will probably be our new “go-to” recipe. Because I’m feeding a family of 4, I will 6 thighs/2lbs next time and triple the sauce amount. We like having enough sauce to coat the rice, too. :). Thank you! Your recipes are delicious, healthy, and inexpensive – perfect for us!
I’ve made this dish before and it is great! Tonight I had to make a big alteration, though, and it still turned out delicious. After preparing the sauce, I realized that the chicken I had in the fridge had turned questionable. Gasp! I didn’t want to waste the sauce, so instead of chicken pieces I battered and fried the steamed broccoli I was planning to serve as a side dish. Now I might make this with broccoli every time! Sharing because we know how much Beth wants us to eat our veggies! (and love them!)
Tried this last night it was DELICIOUS. I had just come off of Whole30 so I had arrowroot powder lying around and it worked perfectly with the glaze (just had to add a bit more than the suggested amount for it to thicken) as a sub for the cornstarch. It was a hit with my picky boyfriend, too. Love this recipe!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit!! WOW is this good! It came together nice and easy too. I added fresh steamed broccoli and carrots and the sauce was so flavorful that the hubby didn’t even complain about me sneaking in veggies!! This recipe goes on the “Make It Again” list for sure!!!
So yummy. Wish I could post a pic!
So great! My husband said, “the chicken and sauce were outstanding.” I served it over cauliflower rice so that part wasn’t his fave 😉
How many calories is in this meal.
I tried this recipe (my first attempt at Orange Chicken) but had to modify the ingredients to what I had in my pantry. I used Sunny D Tangy Original in place of orange juice (I ended up using about 3/4 cup), ground ginger, and boneless skinless chicken breasts. Since I looked at a lot of recipes before choosing this one, I also added 1 tsp sesame oil to help compensate. It still came out really well, and I will make this again!
This is my second go at this dish, (added a few fresh veggies) and it is a hit (just like first)! I regularly feed an army, so your website was such an awesome find!
Yummy looks good gona try it this week
Looks really good love to no how to make General Tso’s chicken husband n I love orange n tso’s but always wanting to try other kinds of chicken n rice like pork fried rice!! Awsome Recipes
I tried this tonight. It is so good! I couldn’t get the zest due to it sticking to the grater, but it was delicious! I’m off to bake your delicious triple berry muffins now!
This is a very tasty and easy dish. I did use less chicken since I was cooking for two. I too found it was a bit too much of the egg mixture and it puddled in the skillet. next time I will dip the chicken in egg and then the cornstarch before frying. I added mixed steamed Asian vegetables so we had some vegetables. I would have liked more sauce. Next time I will double the sauce. Thanks for the great recipe and the cost of each item.
Would there be any downside to using chicken breasts instead of thighs?
The meat probably won’t be quite as tender. Also, make sure to cut it into small enough pieces so that it cooks quickly. Thighs are usually a bit more thin than breasts.
I used boneless skinless chicken breasts and as long as the pieces aren’t too small (I cut mine about 1 inch square), they come out fine. :)
Instead of cornstarch, which I dislike, do you think I could substitute rice flour to get a lighter breading?
Hmm, I’m not sure. I’ve never worked with rice flour.
I often use rice flour since I cook gluten free. It would probably work but I think I would use tapioca flour or potato starch instead because they are much finer and would mix with the egg easier..
Have I told you how much we love this dish? 😉
Wow so easy and yummy My 3year old made the sauce and cleaned his plate ( which never happens) and my ten year old Didn’t complain 5stars can’t wait to make it again
The sauce was super yummy, but I would encourage fellow readers to perhaps start with one egg and work your way up when coating the chicken–I ended up with excess egg! It was fine–I scooped out the fried egg before adding the orange sauce and made a small side dish. :) We made this with zucchini and napa cabbage to add more veggies.
Another amazing recipe! So delicious and easy to make. Thanks!
Delicious! I used frozen chicken and so there was a lot of liquid in the pan. Next time, I will drain that off before adding the glaze because it got very diluted but everyone still loved it! I served it with bok Chou and snap peas.
I wud love to have the nutritional values..please
Geez this sounds so Amazing, just got to try !
This was another Budget Bytes hit in my house. I never have much luck making Asian food, so I was delighted with how well this turned out.
Hey Beth! Tried this and it has been declared a family favorite (along with just about every single recipe I have tried from you) … my question is this…. How do you think it would work to bake or broil the chicken instead of frying? Not that I’m opposed to fried food but I made about a triple recipe (lots of hungry people) and it was a lot of time at the stove! I did find that the leftovers (I hid some for lunch the next day) were amazing after reheating under the broiler on low as it added a little extra crisp…
I think you can bake it, but the chicken will just be a slightly different texture. I’m not sure I’d do the egg-cornstarch mixture if I was baking because that will just slide off. Perhaps you can just do it kind of like how I did my sheet pan sweet and sour chicken? Maybe even add some broccoli in there while you’re at it! :)
This is the first time I have visited this site, but I love it already. I love how you have the cost per pound and price paid per item listed in your recipe so I can compare prices on my end and know if I too am able to recreate your recipes for the same cost per serving. I was looking for Orange Chicken for my kids’ lunches since that seems to be a fave. This looks excellent. I will leave a review after I get to taste the recipe :)
Great recipe!
Yummy! But might tone down the soy sauce a little for my own tastes haha
Yum! This is super random, but: I just made this with a grapefruit instead of an orange because that’s what I had on hand, and I was a bit nervous about how it would turn out…but it was delicious! Thanks, Beth!
Oh wow!!
Made this tonight–big hit with the big guy and the little guys. At first glance, I thought this was an egg wash then dredge in cornstarch recipe. I HATE dredging in flour and always end up with big clumps of gunk in the frying pan. This was so much easier and better!.
Made this recipe a few days ago. Really like the fact that there is no messing around with a whole lot of corn starch and no deep frying. Very tasty too. Thanks Beth!
My boyfriend LOVED this recipe – he went back for seconds, which is something he rarely does with my cooking (lol) so thank you! I loved the tips on how to cook the chicken – they came out juicy and perfect for me! The sauce was tasty but for those who love a ‘saucy’ meal, I would suggest doubling the quantities of each item. I will do this next time as we both love our sauce!
Thanks Beth :)
This looks so good, but I’m allergic to citrus fruits. Any suggestions, because I love sweet Asian chicken, but I have to be careful how I make it.
I would use the sauce in my Sesame Tofu recipe. Very similar, minus the orange. You can add extra brown sugar if you like it sweeter.
This was awesome! I’m also a fan of the Trader Joe’s version, but hardly ever make it to a TJ’s anymore. This tasted identical and was really easy. Adding this as one of our favorite / go-to recipes from your site. Thank you!!
Just made this for dinner tonight. We do not eat any Asian food out anymore because I can not do the Soy Sauce. Coconut Aminos are my go to instead of Soy.
This was great!!!
I am really bad about just using a recipe for a guide but followed this sauce to a T and it was great. Going to make it up and freeze packets of it to have ready for quick stir fry and dipping sauce.
Thanks
PS I do have to admit I used cubed pork loin instead of chicken because that’s what I had on hand…
I love having TJ orange chicken (from the freezer section) on stand-by for a quick dinner that the whole family loves. I wonder if I used this, if it could be freezer-friendly? Maybe after the fry, flash freeze, and reheat on the stove, similar to the Trader Joe’s packaging?
The sauce will definitely change in appearance. Any type of cornstarch based sauce won’t stay clear and shiny, they tend to get a bit cloudy, but it might still taste okay?
This looks perfect for weeknight dinners =)
Looks luscious, can you provide nutritional info – specifically calories, sugar grams, fat grams and protein grams.
It’s so funny that you posted this, because when I made your Easy Sesame Chicken awhile back, for some reason I didn’t love the sauce, but did like the chicken cooking method, so thought, “maybe I could just try this method to make orange chicken”. I have a delicious orange chicken recipe from Allrecipes, but it has tons of sugar in it, so I tried a different one recently to try to be healthier (really just so I feel like I can still have dessert) and it was pretty good, but I bet yours will be better so I’m excited to try it! Thanks!
I’m so glad to see this; my son LOVES orange chicken. I, however, can’t have soy. I’m thinking of either subbing fish sauce for the soy sauce or frying in toasted sesame oil. I suppose I could also just omit the soy sauce altogether and let Hubs and Son add it to the finished dish. Do you have any idea which option would work best?
Coconut Aminos taste almost identical to soy sauce!
use coconut aminos in place of soy. But consider reducing the amount of brown sugar. coconut aminos is sweeter than soy sauce but will give you the same flavor
Hmm, honestly I don’t think that either fish sauce or just sesame oil will work as a direct substitution. It would take total re-working to try to make this recipe without the soy sauce. Some others have suggested coconut aminos, but I’ve never used those before. :(
Thanks, everyone, for the input. Looks like I’ll have to invest in coconut aminos (they’re just so darn pricy).
Awesome and perfect timing! I love your sesame chicken recipe, it is a regular in our house. I love that it is not deep fried!
My kids love orange chicken, and you didn’t have a recipe for that, so this morning I was trying to find orange sauce recipes on other websites that I could pair up with your sesame chicken recipe. And then I saw you had posted an orange chicken recipe :-)
this looks SO good! what vegetables would go well with this? any reccomendations?
There are a few side dish recommendations in the intro, just above the first photo. :)
I’m pairing mine with steamed broccoli and i tossed in some 1/2″ pieces of red bell pepper with the chicken.
Do you think this would this turn out well with your pan fried tofu in lieu of the chicken? Would you suggest doing anything differently? Maybe foregoing the egg and just using cornstarch?
Yep, I think that the crispy tofu would work great!
I made this with tofu using the directions from the pan fried tofu…holy cow! It is delicious!
Thanks for this recipe! I am not a huge fried food fan either, but this looks delicious. And I feel like the pan-frying method usually gives the fry taste I am looking for without the ALL the greasiness.
I can’t believe that after ALL THESE YEARS you’re just now tackling this recipe! And with tamari instead of soy sauce, I can make these gluten free – yay! Thanks for another great recipe!
I was just going to comment how easily this could be made gluten free! I love it!
Hahah, I know, right?? I’ve literally had it on my list of recipes to try for YEARS.
Orange chicken is my absolute favorite (semi-) Chinese food! SO good and Panda Express never fails me haha. Love that this looks just as good and fits my budget! YUM
Your sesame chicken has been in dinner rotation in our house for a few months now so I’ll have to give this a try. One other tip that you might like to try is I add a little soy & garlic powder to the coating,then let the chicken sit in it for about half an hour to marinate just a little. .