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 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.