6wholeboneless chicken thighsor 2 lbs. of chicken tenderloins
¼cupall purpose flour
1 tbsp.corn starch
1 tsp.black pepperor less to taste, fresh ground
1tsp.onion powder
1/2tsp.ginger powder
1/2 tsp.salt
1tsp.paprikato add color to the chicken
Vegetable oil for frying
Orange Chicken Sauce
¾cupfresh orange juice
1½tbsp.corn starch
2tbsps.vegetable oil
3tbsps.low sodium soy sauce
1½tbsp.rice vinegaror white vinegar
2tbsps.brown sugar
½tbsp.grated ginger
2clovesfresh garlicminced
½tsp.black pepperfresh ground
1tsp.orange zest
Chili flakesoptional to add heat
Instructions
Dice the chicken into ½ inch cube pieces and place in a bowl. Add in the flour, corn starch, salt, black pepper, onion powder, paprika, and ginger powder to coat the chicken.
In a deep frying pan, bring the oil to medium-high heat. Fry the chicken until golden brown. Takes about 2-3 minutes. Do no over cook or else it will become chewy.
Meanwhile, whisk all the sauce ingredients and a bowl. Transfer to a hot non stick skillet or frying pan and cook on low-heat, simmering until the sauce thickens up.
Transfer the fried chicken to the sauce and mix to coat well. Let the sauce and chicken simmer together for 1-2 minutes and then remove from heat.
Serve with homemade Lo Mein Noodles or white rice. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions. (optional)
Video
Notes
Use a large non-stick pan/skillet or wok.
Opt out for skinless boneless chicken tenderloins if you don't like thighs.
Cut your chicken into even, bite sized, pieces. This way they'll cook evenly.
If you prefer a milder sauce flavor, you can easily adjust the amount of orange zest in the recipe.
You can reserve some of the sauce to place on rice or double up on the sauce ingredients to make it extra saucy.
Make sure your skillet is nice and hot.
You can use store bought orange juice is you have to but don't skip the orange zest.
If you really have to, to make this Easy Orange Chicken recipe even easier, you buy frozen popcorn chicken and cook them so you don't have to go through the effort of cutting up the raw chicken.