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!
Mary
My husband and I loved
this recipe.
He even posted a picture to our friends which was a great compliment to me.
Courtney
I never leave reviews but this was so delicious I have to, I didn't need to change a thing. 10/10
Donna A Pollock
I have already prepared my ingredients. I have a couple of errands to run and then come back home and make this. Thank you so much Melissa. I love this idea, and what a great dinner. My boys love Orange Chicken.
You're The Best, and Thank you so much.
Ray B
I love how you can really taste the orange in the sauce. This is my new favorite chicken recipe of all time.
Delia Chudanski
I was looking for the serving #. It doesn't say on the recipe. Since there are 4 chicken breast would that be 8 servings?
Jacks
The thing I want.
Mary
Did anyone answer the servings question ?
Adonai
I have a family of 6 and it fed us all with some left-overs!
Elliott
Depends on the amount of rice that you serve with it, one or two scops!!!
Lainey
What's the serving size? thanks
Ami B.
This recipe is AMAZING! The sauce has a really nice, bright orange flavor and isn't overpoweringly sweet.
I usually don't leave reviews on recipes, but this recipe is a highly requested family favorite so I had to! 10/10!!!
Larry
Delicious. This orange chicken recipe is better than any frozen, homemade, chain or Chinese takeout I have eaten. For personal preferences, I doubled the pepper flakes and fresh ginger and increased the orange zest by half. Used peanut oil for its heating characteristics. The family loved it. A definite keeper. Thank you Melissa!
Jennifer Grout
How much orange zest
Michelle H.
This was delicious! I liked that the sauce wasn't overpowering. I loved how crispy the chicken was after cooking - I am guessing it was the cornstarch? Thanks for a very easy to follow - AND YUMMY - recipe!
fish
Yup, cornstarch will get some crispyness. If you love more crisp consider double frying. Fry half the time, remove and cool. Then fry one more time for the other half of the time. OHHH LALA
destiny
it’s not bad but that orange really comes through,, idk if it’s the juice or zest or combination but you can rlly taste the orange
fish
We all have different tastes, next time try not using the zest. Others have found that to reduce the over orange taste.
Jerry
This is one of our favorites. The best...big hit with guest. We add egg rolls and rice or stir fry veggies.
Holly
This is what I always wanted orange chicken to taste like! So fresh, crisp and flavorful! I subbed about a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger for more flavor. I only cooked 3 chicken breasts and it made a lot! 6 servings maybe a little more.
Jacks
I don’t usually leave comments on recipes but I just had to say this is one of the best chicken I have ever tasted in my life. Will definitely do it more times!
J
This was absolutely mouth watering. My boyfriend and I really liked this. The sauce makes just enough to cover the chicken perfectly. Next time I make this I will double the sauce so it covers my stir fry and rice too.
Angelina
I don’t know how to cook but by just following this recipe my orange chicken tasted so good!! Thank you very much!
Jackie
I made this for the first time and it is absolutely delicious! It almost tasted as if I ordered Chinese take out, if not, better!
The only tweaks I did was I used only 3 chicken breasts which I find was just enough for the sauce. I used olive oil for frying, and I didn't add orange zest or green onions to garnish.
It was still delicious!!
I would make this again for sure!
Jodi Lakatos
Absolutely delicious! Sauteed chicken instead of deep fried. Used tropicana OJ, no zest, cut sugar to about 1/3 cup added steamed broccoli and red pepper. So much better and healthier than take out.
Andrea
Monosodium glutamate is a natural occurrence in nature and has sadly been demonized. Unless you have an allergy it is a great resource to cook with.
Trying this recipe tonight. But adding a sprinkle of MSG.
Cindy
I made this recipe for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious. I jave never had orange chicken before so i can't compare to the restaurant version. My husband has eaten the orange chicken from the restaurant and he said it was so much better than the restaurant version. Will be making it again thank you for the recipe. Have a wonderful day.
Michael H.
Easy to prepare and absolutely delicious, will definitely be making this again.
Sherrie
I used a different recipe to cook my chicken (after skillet frying I cooked it in the sauce in the oven ) but this sauce was so delicious!. I used store bought orange juice and I didn't have any oranges to use orange zest and it still came out great..
Tatiana Famania
THIS WAS SO GOOD! Made it for my family and they loved it! It was a little spicy, but white rice definitely balanced it out. 10/10
Awhiteperson
Hey, I really like the recipe, wish the author wasn't using micro aggressions against Asians but hey, when you order Chinese food you need to make sure there is no cats or dogs inside but if I prepare this at home I know I don't have to worry about accidentally adding cat or dog. Thank goodness.
Modern Honey
When I said about ingredients you can pronounce, I am talking about ingredients that are fillers in a lot of fast food such as Monosodium glutamate. When you read the nutritional information is a lot of the fast-food we consume, it is filled with artificial ingredients and many times not even 100% real chicken! So when I shared this recipe, that is what I am saying -- you are making the sauce and breading from scratch with boneless skinless chicken breast. For the record, I would never ever say anything disparaging about any group of people.