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!
Kristen
Seriously best orange chicken ever! I make this an unhealthy amount now that I’ve found this recipe!
Chris David
Great recipe and really a nice one. Will surely try this
Keith
How sweet is it? Can you dial back the sugar and still get the orange flavor coming through.
Kelley
I’m no cook. I actually hate cooking. I’d much rather do dishes. That being said, I felt a hankering for orange chicken. Long story short… this was SO good!!!! My husband said this was his favorite dish I’ve Ever made (we’ve been married for 21 years, so he had a bunch to choose from). I’ll be making it again. When I get the hankering, that is.
Teresa
For dietary reasons, I substituted a few ingredients and this recipe was still outstanding. In case anyone is curious, here are my substitutions (everything is 1:1 ratio unless otherwise noted): honey for sugar (2/3:1); tamari sauce for soy sauce; tapioca starch for corn starch; and paleo flour for all-purpose flour.
Bonnie
Had the same experience as another one of your commenters after using a slow cooker recipe. Just like her, the sauce was bland so I found your recipe and made the sauce, and WOW, delicious! Spectacular! And sooo easy. My son tasted the slow cooker chicken and said it was good, but after I put your sauce over the chicken his eyes really lit up. Your sauce was of the perfect consistency and not that heavy sugary sweet sauce you usually get eating out. l love making Chinese food and I love your recipe. Next time I will prepare the chicken as you did. Thank you for the best ever orange chicken. Ten stars in my opinion.
Miranda
This is amazing. Have made it twice now for my family.
Steve Fyffe
I have made this on numerous occasions and my family and I think it's as good, if not better, than the local Chinese takeaway. This is a very simple recipe that I would recommend anyone to try.
Rebecca
I will make thus recipe over and over again for the rest of my life!! This is the very BEST orange chicken recipe I have ever made. I subbed the fresh ginger for powdered ginger. Would recommend even for the luckiest eaters!!
Joan
Do you have a good recipe for salmon, I bake it but need some different sauces to try. Thanks in advance
Ralph Mayo
I made this and it was excellent!
Connie
This was really tasty. I definitely will be making this again
Heidi Simkins
Sooo good😋 I made a couple small changes...I used orange juice in place of the water for cornstarch slurry, used brown sugar, & doubled the sauce.
Allie
This recipe was really good and honestly tasted better than fast food restaurants like Panda Express. Although, I used pork in place of the chicken, it still tasted really good!
Christine
Huge hit with my family and friends! Served with scallion waffles, for a chicken-and-waffle twist and everyone loved it. Thanks for this recipe!
Sierra Peterson
This orange chicken is SOOOO much better than take-out! I love making this recipe on the weekends for my family and friends. Everyone always asks for the recipe, it is that good!
Shelley Thomas Reagin
i was craving Panda orange chicken. With panda being 40 miles away and fuel prices being what they are I used this recipe. Subbed frozen quality chicken nuggets that I baked. This was off the chain good! Can I make extra sauce and freeze it?
Dean
I absolutely love this recipe! I really like Chinese food, but it has been really hit or miss for me when trying to find a good spot to eat. This recipe gives me my fix at home and it is sooooo good!! Easy to make, consistent and the flavors are amazing. This is a go to for my family.
Taylor
Can you save the left over orange sauce?
Dianna
One of the other commenters mentioned that it freezes well, if that helps!
Rose
Can you please tell me do you use fresh squeezed orange juice or orange juice from the bottle?
Gee Gee
Rose, how could it possibly make a difference what kind of orange juice you use in this recipe? Fresh squeezed, bottled, or even canned frozen would work just fine. I used the juice from the orange I zested and used bottled juice to bring it up to the amount called for.
Andrea
Made this tonight because we love Costco/Sam's Club frozen Orange Chicken, but that gets pricey now that my little ones are eating more.
Everyone enjoyed this tonight, but I would like to figure out a way to improve the following:
1.) I air fried the chicken to save on mess and health... it didn't get all that crispy/breading wasn't very thick. So you didn't get the texture of store-bought at all.
2.) The sauce was too thin so it didn't stick as thickly on the chicken. I would up the cornstarch next time I think.
3.) The sauce tasted very orange juice-y. It wasn't bad, but it was very different to have it taste so much like orange juice...I think I'd rather adjust some of the proportions or something so that OJ flavor is not so strong.
We always add peanuts, green onions and red pepper flakes at the table to our orange chicken, which is a tradition we kept with this version too = yum!