Chinese Orange Chicken made with crispy fried chicken covered in an authentic orange sauce. The ultimate Chinese Orange Chicken Recipe which is way better than take-out.
My kids are always begging me to take them to grab Chinese food. They are obsessed with orange chicken but I am never really sure what's in it....especially if they get it from a drive-thru. I wanted to create a version at home, made from scratch, with all-natural ingredients. It still has the same incredible flavor they love. It's definitely a win-win in our home.
It is wintertime in Arizona which means that the citrus is ripe for the picking. I am surrounded by neighbors who have a plethora of fresh oranges and lemons hanging from their trees. This is the perfect time of year to whip up orange and lemon dishes especially this Chinese Orange Chicken.
This Chinese Orange Chicken is made with boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces, dredged, and then fried until golden and crispy. The orange sauce is divine! It is a sweet orange sauce made with orange juice, vinegar, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, red chili flakes, and orange zest. It is both sweet and spicy and full of flavor.
How to make Chinese Orange Chicken at home:
- Start with boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs. Cut into bite-size pieces. Dredge the chicken in whisked eggs and cornstarch/flour mixture until nice and coated. Get these chicken pieces ready for the oil.
- To make your homemade orange sauce, place orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and red chili flakes in a small pot and cook over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch and water and cook until thickened. Stir in orange zest.
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When frying foods, it is so helpful to use a thermometer. Let the oil heat up to 350 degrees. Once the oil is ready, in batches, cook chicken for about 2 minutes until light golden brown. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Toss fried chicken with the sweet orange sauce. Top with grated orange zest and green onions. Serve immediately.
Chinese Orange Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 Eggs whisked
- ⅓ cup Cornstarch
- ⅓ cup Flour
- Salt
- Oil for frying
Orange Chicken Sauce:
- 1 cup Orange Juice
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar or White Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce use tamari for a gluten-free dish
- ¼ teaspoon Ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder or 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
- ½ teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
- Orange Zest from 1 orange
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
Garnish:
- Green Onions
- Orange Zest
Instructions
- To make orange sauce:
- In a medium pot, add orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes. Heat for 3 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of water to form a paste. Add to orange sauce and whisk together. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Once the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and add orange zest.
- To make chicken:
- Place flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish or pie plate. Add a generous pinch of salt. Stir.
- Whisk eggs in shallow dish.
- Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then flour mixture. Place on plate.
- Heat 2 -3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Using a thermometer, watch for it to reach 350 degrees.
- Working in batches, cook several chicken pieces at a time. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, turning often until golden brown. Place chicken on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat.
- Toss chicken with orange sauce. You may reserve some of the sauce to place on rice. Serve it with a sprinkling of green onion and orange zest, if so desired.
Video
This Orange Chicken is going to make you forget take-out. Let me know how it turns out by reaching out on instagram at @modern_honey. Have a great night, my friends!
Candice Nix
Probably because the recipe calls for 4 chicken breasts.
Michael G
Super good, even my wife who doesn’t like Chinese food enjoyed it.
Question: I used bottled orange juice, is it supposed to be fresh squeezed? I did cut down on the sugar though since the bottled OJ has quite a bit of it in there already.
Trisha
I too cut down on the sugar since I used bottled OJ. Definitely recommend adding HALF the sugar then add more to your tast.
Amanda MARX
It's ok I add more seasoning to it all just to make it a little tastier but it's a good base recipe.
Lynne Morley
I loved it. If I double the recipe I don’t double the red pepper flakes. Little too spicy. Had to make it for 50 people so I baked the chicken chunks in the oven at 450 with only flour and salt and pepper. It was also very good. But I do prefer cooking it on the stovetop the suggested way.
Erika
Hi. You use fresh or powder ginger??
Lorena
So good! I will definitely make this over and over, as it is the best I’ve ever had and was surprisingly easy to make.
Alice
Wow, what a delicious recipe. Love the way the chicken is fried. It is so much better than slopping the pieces around in a web mixture of cornstarch. The sauce was sure delicious too. Very impressive. When I got done my dish looked like your dish. In fact this recipe was the best Chinese recipe I have ever eaten.
The only things I did was add a little salt to tamp down the sweetness and reduce the hot peppers. Will sure be eating this tomorrow too.
Raziel Kohanbash
Best orange chicken I've had in my life. Thank you!
Louise
So much better than take out!! Love how the different flavours develop as you eat each mouthful. My husband asks for this at least once a month!!
Debbie Saulnier
The orange chicken was the best we have tried so far. I have to double the sauce next time.
Aysha
This is amazing I made his for my family and they loved it
Cynthia
Delicious! I will double the sauce next time. My 11 year old said he would rate a 10 on Yelp!
Shaye
Great recipe we loved it, thanks!!
Gigi
This was so delicious according to my daughter! Since I don't eat chicken - I was curious how she would like it - and she LOVED it. I used the sauce over my tofu - and loved the sauce. So, this is a keeper! Thank you for a great recipe.
Annette
Best recipe for orange chicken! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. Will definitely make this again!
Mike S
As always, I make recipes which call for sugar with much less sugar than specified. For me, a good 1/3 C of Sugar in the Raw was plenty for this... and, that was for double the ingredients. Yes, this recipe looked good enough to double on my first go. Any more sugar, and the tang of the orange juice would have disappeared, in my opinion.
Patti Beckett-Leslie
Love this Orange Chicken! My grandkids do too.
Can it be Frozen?
Sandra
I just happened to get online and I was looking for a recipe for Orange Chicken, my granddaughters love orange chicken and always want me to buy it, so I decided to make it. Your recipe came up online as the first recipe shown and it had 5 ⭐,I checked out the ingredients and said it sounded good. Well I made it for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious. I am definitely keeping this recipe to make in the future and also giving my daughter the recipe so she can make it for the girls. Thank you for having an amazing recipe.
Donna A Pollock
We love orange chicken in our house. I have all the ingredients for this so I'm making it tonight for Supper. My 2 sons could eat Orange Chicken everyday, so I'm making this for them. I have never had a bad recipe from you my friend so I just have to make this one. Stay cool over there, and we thank you for our dinner tonight.
Danielle marez
This orange sauce is the best I have ever tried. It tastes exactly like a restaurant I used to go to in my hometown. I used red wine vinegar instead because I was out of white vinegar and it was great!! Going to be a staple in my family now!