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    Home » Recipes » Dinner

    Chinese Orange Chicken

    Published: Jan 30, 2018 · Modified: Nov 16, 2020 by Modern Honey · This post may contain affiliate links · 551 Comments

    108302 shares
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    Chinese Orange Chicken that is better than take-out. How to make ORANGE CHICKEN at home with a sweet orange sauce. www.modernhoney.com

    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.

    Chinese Orange Chicken that is better than take-out. How to make ORANGE CHICKEN at home with a sweet orange sauce. www.modernhoney.com

    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.

    Chinese Orange Chicken that is better than take-out. How to make ORANGE CHICKEN at home with a sweet orange sauce. www.modernhoney.com

    How to make Chinese Orange Chicken at home:

    1.  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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
    5. Toss fried chicken with the sweet orange sauce.  Top with grated orange zest and green onions. Serve immediately.

    Chinese Orange Chicken that is better than take-out. How to make ORANGE CHICKEN at home with a sweet orange sauce. www.modernhoney.com

    Chinese Orange Chicken that is better than take-out. How to make ORANGE CHICKEN at home with a sweet orange sauce. www.modernhoney.com

    Chinese Orange Chicken

    Melissa Stadler, Modern Honey
    Chinese Orange Chicken that is way better than take-out!
    4.96 from 340 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 35 mins
    Course Dinner
    Cuisine Asian

    Ingredients
      

    Chicken:

    • 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into bite-size pieces
    • 3 Eggs whisked
    • ⅓ cup Cornstarch
    • ⅓ cup Flour
    • 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 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

    Keyword chinese orange chicken
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Chinese Orange Chicken that is better than take-out. How to make ORANGE CHICKEN at home with a sweet orange sauce. www.modernhoney.com

    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!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bruce T

      July 17, 2022 at 8:18 pm

      5 stars
      Had to fly by the seat of my pants to cut this down to one serving but it is excellent! Every bit as good as the frozen kind from Trader Joe's where the price has gone through the roof. (inflation, I'm sure.) Next time, I may see if I can make the full recipe and freeze it.

      Reply
      • Bruce T

        July 25, 2022 at 3:26 am

        I made this a second time using almost the full orginal recipe (I was running out of chicken breast) and it was even better. I deep fried all of the chicken then put enough for a serving in the wok with a little oil, heated it up, and added some sauce. The extra went in the refrigerator. I had planned on freezing some but it was gone the next day. I had leftover rice as well and dinner the second day was done in ten minutes.

        Reply
        • Paula

          September 13, 2022 at 7:56 pm

          5 stars
          We loved this orange chicken! I thought I had a box of orange chicken in the freezer, but I just had plain chicken breasts so I tried your recipe. My family loved it!

          Reply
        • Bonnie

          September 18, 2022 at 9:33 am

          5 stars
          This was delicious, it's definitely a keeper!

          Reply
      • Modern Honey

        August 11, 2022 at 6:58 am

        5 stars
        Hi Bruce! I loved that you made this for one serving and it turned out great. Such a smart idea. Thank you for giving my orange chicken recipe a shot!

        Reply
        • Yvonne Capriglione

          August 24, 2022 at 3:13 pm

          5 stars
          I have made this at least 5 times!!! The only difference is I batter and deep-fry the chicken. GREAT RECIPE!!

          Reply
        • Zazo

          August 30, 2022 at 12:58 pm

          I'm very excited to try this recipe but I'm not sure what you do to the ginger for the sauce? Is it ground, crushed, chopped?

          Reply
          • Thomas

            September 07, 2022 at 12:11 pm

            Ginger powder works great

            Reply
      • David

        September 13, 2022 at 4:35 am

        5 stars
        Omg!!! This was the first time i attempted to make orange chicken. I usually buy it from the Panda, unfortunately do to inflation enough said! It was better tasting, fresh ingredients helps! And we had enough to get second serving. It's absolutely delicious!
        Thank you for the recipe. My family and i love it

        Reply
    2. alexa

      July 24, 2022 at 8:02 pm

      Super yummy! I used thighs instead of breast and it was amazing. it tastes better than take out 🙂

      Reply
      • Modern Honey

        August 11, 2022 at 6:59 am

        5 stars
        Hi Alexa! Great idea to use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts for the orange chicken. I bet it made extra tender. Thank you for trying it out!

        Reply
    3. Rinda

      August 04, 2022 at 6:08 pm

      5 stars
      It’s incredibly delicious!! My friend said much better than a Chinese restaurant, and my husband said this is one of the meals he would like to eat before he dies! Thank you so so much for sharing this recipe!

      Reply
      • Modern Honey

        August 11, 2022 at 7:00 am

        5 stars
        Wow! Those are some high compliments. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I am happy you all loved the Chinese Orange Chicken!

        Reply
    4. Dad Chef

      August 15, 2022 at 4:18 pm

      5 stars
      Very good but I had to triple the breading and double the sauce to make enough for the 4 chicken breasts that I used. Either I cut the into too many pieces or I just had extra large chicken breasts. Either way, this was a huge hit with the whole family.

      Reply
      • Modern Honey

        August 17, 2022 at 7:45 am

        5 stars
        I am so glad it was a hit with your family! I agree...it does depend on how large the chicken breasts are so you were smart to triple the breading. Thank you so much for your kind words and for trying my orange chicken recipe!

        Reply
    5. Naomi

      August 16, 2022 at 1:35 pm

      5 stars
      Very tasty and easy to make!! I also added more seasoning to the orange chicken sauce and it was amazing!! 😀

      Reply
      • Modern Honey

        August 17, 2022 at 7:46 am

        5 stars
        Thanks so much, Naomi! Great idea to add more seasonings to the orange sauce. I bet it tasted amazing!

        Reply
    6. Helen

      August 18, 2022 at 7:53 pm

      5 stars
      I was skeptical about all the positive reviews but wow….just made this recipe. I regretted making it mid way because it was a lot of cooking and I worked all day but boy am I glad I did, and so are my fam. All of us loved it including picky husband and two kids (age 3 and 6). It was absolutely delicious. I followed everything except got lazy with the zest, so didn’t use zest. Very delicious orange chicken. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Modern Honey

        August 19, 2022 at 1:36 pm

        5 stars
        What a great endorsement! Thank you so much for taking the time to try the orange chicken recipe and I am so glad it was worth the effort. I appreciate the kind words!

        Reply
        • Helen

          August 19, 2022 at 2:01 pm

          I just remembered I actually used thigh instead and it was still great. Thank you for a great recipe!

          Reply
    7. Min

      August 20, 2022 at 10:34 am

      Has anyone tried this with an air fryer? If so, were there any mods to make? Thank You!

      Reply
    8. Diana K

      August 21, 2022 at 4:23 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely delicious!!! Everyone loved it! Will definitely make it again. Takes some time to fry all the chicken but worth it.

      Reply
      • Modern Honey

        August 22, 2022 at 8:13 am

        5 stars
        I am so happy to hear that everyone loved the orange chicken! Thank you for taking the time to try my recipe.

        Reply
    9. Jennie

      August 24, 2022 at 8:02 am

      5 stars
      This is my go-to recipe for orange chicken. It's incredible, thank you so much for sharing it!

      When I want to make it a bit healthier, I sub honey for the sugar and it works great. Also, the recipe as-is also tastes amazing with baked tofu instead of chicken if you're vegan!

      Reply
      • Modern Honey

        August 26, 2022 at 8:21 am

        5 stars
        Hi Jennie! I love all of your suggestions. This orange chicken recipe is super adaptable so thank you for sharing your tips. I agree -- honey can easily be used and I hear that baked tofu tastes great too!

        Reply
    10. Tempest

      August 24, 2022 at 7:13 pm

      5 stars
      Made this using frozen popcorn chicken, and it was delicious. I cooked the frozen popcorn chicken according to the instructions. Then I followed everything else in the recipe. It's better than take-out orange chicken. It's a repeat recipe at my home. Thanks for the fantastic recipe.

      Reply
      • Modern Honey

        August 26, 2022 at 8:22 am

        5 stars
        Hi Tempest! I love the idea of using frozen popcorn chicken. It makes such an quick and easy orange chicken. Thank you so much for trying my recipe!

        Reply
    11. Samantha

      August 26, 2022 at 10:57 pm

      5 stars
      I made this for my family and it was amazingly good. The chicken wasn't as crispy as I thought it was going to be, but it was still good. The orange sauce is amazing! This is better than take out for sure!

      Reply
      • Modern Honey

        September 01, 2022 at 4:47 pm

        5 stars
        Thank you, Samantha, for trying out the orange chicken recipe! So happy your family loved it. I agree...the homemade orange sauce is the best!

        Reply
    12. Jason

      September 01, 2022 at 9:07 pm

      5 stars
      I made this tonight with my picky eater kids. They inhaled it and practically licked the plates! I made boiled broccoli with it to help sop up the extra sauce, which played very well with the overall flavor pallet. I think next time, I might add a bit more vinegar, as I found it a touch sweeter than I would have preferred, but very, very good, regardless.

      Reply
    13. Jenna

      September 02, 2022 at 3:44 pm

      5 stars
      The sauce is outstanding! Wouldn't change a thing.

      Reply
    14. Dove

      September 09, 2022 at 2:14 pm

      What type of oil is used?

      Reply
    15. Pat

      September 17, 2022 at 8:33 am

      Loved this recipe! I have never had much success with home-cooked Chinese food. It never quite tastes like the restaurant. However, this dish did! Any chance of working up a shrimp egg foo yung recipe? Would love to make that at home, Thanks.

      Reply
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    Melissa Stadler Modern Honey

    Hi, I'm Melissa Stadler! I am an Award-Winning Recipe Creator. Cover of Food Network Magazine. Two-Time Pillsbury Bake-Off Finalist. I am passionate about sharing the best recipes so you have success in the kitchen!

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