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This Orange Chicken recipe tastes just like the popular Panda Express dish, made easily at home with simple ingredients. With tender, crispy chicken coated in an orange tangy sauce, this is even better than takeout.
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This Orange Chicken recipe takes center stage when we have a Chinese food night. This may not be the exact Panda Express Orange Chicken recipe, but our version of this recipe comes pretty close. I rarely get Chinese takeout anymore because it’s so much cheaper to make it at home, and homemade Chinese food tastes so fresh.
In my opinion, the best part of this orange chicken is the homemade tangy orange sauce. The vibrant orange flavor complements the tender chicken chunks perfectly.
Ingredients for Orange Chicken
This is an easy orange chicken recipe. Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. Most are pantry staples and each adds unique flavor to the dish.
For the Chicken
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs. White meat from boneless chicken breasts can also be used.
- Eggs. This binds the coating to the chicken for crispy chicken pieces.
- Cornstarch, salt, pepper. The coating for the chicken added before frying.
- Oil for frying. Use an oil with a high smoke point and neutral flavor. I recommend vegetable oil, canola oil, peanut oil, or sunflower oil.
Sauce Ingredients
- Liquid Ingredients: Fresh orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce.
- Seasonings: Brown sugar, fresh orange zest, fresh ginger, garlic, green onions.
- To Thicken: Cornstarch and water.
How to Cook Orange Chicken
1. Prepare the Chicken:
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, trimming any excess fat.
- Whisk eggs in a small bowl. Mix cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a resealable bag.
- Dip chicken pieces in the egg mixture, then add chicken to the cornstarch mixture. Shake the bag until each piece is coated.
2. Cook the Chicken:
- Heat the oil in a deep fryer or wok to 375°F.
- Fry the chicken in batches until golden brown and fully cooked (internal temperature of 165°F according to the USDA recommendations). Remove the chicken and place on paper towels to drain excess oil.
3. Make the Orange Sauce:
- Whisk water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic and green onions. Bring to a boil while continuing to stir.
- Slowly stir in cornstarch slurry (cornstarch + water) to thicken.
4. Combine:
- Gently stir the sauce into the chicken until the chicken is fully coated. Serve hot!
Alternate Cooking Methods
- Pan Frying: Heat a little oil in a large skillet and cook chicken on each side for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Toss with sauce.
- Baking: Bake coated chicken at 375°F for 8-10 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. The chicken won’t be as crispy, but will still have all the flavor.
- Air Frying: Spray coated chicken with cooking spray when adding it to the air fryer. Cook at 350°F for 10-12 minutes on each side. All air fryers are different so check the correct temperatures and times for chicken pieces. When turning, spray any dry flour on the chicken with cooking spray.
Make it Gluten-Free
Because we use a cornstarch coating on the chicken instead of flour, the chicken is already gluten-free. To make a gluten-free orange sauce, simply use gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce in the orange sauce. As always, check labels to make sure you’re working with gluten free ingredients.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, Orange Chicken is sweeter, with a citrusy sauce, while General Tso’s is spicier with a more savory glaze. However, Orange Chicken is a variation of General Tso’s Chicken, which is an authentic Chinese dish.
Traditionally, orange chicken is made with dark meat from chicken thighs, which is juicier and more flavorful than white meat. White meat can also be used, if preferred.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Please do not reheat in the microwave! The chicken will no longer be crisp. Stir-fry leftovers in a wok or skillet with a little bit of canola oil or sesame oil over medium-high heat. You can also reheat orange chicken in an air fryer for great results!
What to Serve with Orange Chicken
Pair this dish with steamed vegetables, white rice, lo mein noodles, egg rolls, or potstickers for a full Chinese-inspired meal. Check out more of our Asian-inspired recipes:
Orange Chicken Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- vegetable oil, for frying
Orange Sauce
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ¼ cup water, divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion, plus more for garnish
- red pepper flakes, to taste
Instructions
Chicken
- Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Combine cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a resealable plastic bag. In a small bowl, use a fork to beat the egg until the yolk and egg white are blended.
- Dip chicken pieces into beaten egg. Shake in cornstarch mixture to coat.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or wok to 375 degrees F. Deep-fry chicken in batches until completely cooked. Remove it to drain on paper towels.
Orange Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with ¼ cup water and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan combine the remaining 1 cup water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Whisk ingredients together over medium heat for a few minutes.
- Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic, and green onion. Bring to a boil Slowly stir the cornstarch mixture into the sauce until it thickens.
- Place fried chicken in a large bowl and pour sauce over the top.
- Fold the sauce into the chicken or toss gently to coat. If desired, add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions.
The link for the Restaurant fried – rice did not work. Do you have another link? Thanks!
Here it is: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/restaurant-ham-fried-rice/
Hi, do you think I could bake the chicken just to cut on the frying and calories ? Thank You
yes, definitely!
Thank you for sharing your recipes, they are so much easier to access this a must try.
Thanks so much! We hope you will keep coming back for more recipes! We will do our best to keep crankin’ em out. 🙂
Great recipe again! As with the Chicken Coconut Curry recipe, we were impressed and are keeping these recipes for the long run! I feel like my chicken wasn’t as crispy as what you would find at Panda Express lol, so maybe next time I might try adding a little bit of buttermilk to the flour to make it crispier (see Pioneer Woman’s fried chicken strips). But the recipe, as is, was great and so yummy! Thank you!
If you use cornstarch instead of flour, your chicken will be nice and crispy
I’ve been collecting orange chicken recipes for a while, and this is the first one I’ve tried- I don’t think I need to try any of the others 🙂 This one was so good! Even my hubby liked it, and he typically doesn’t like sweet/fruity meats.
I made this and used duck…it is soooo good ..poured it over white rice ..I didnt have scallions but I used leeks!!!
Silly question probably, but does the chicken need to be pre-cooked, or can it be raw?
It’s supposed to be raw.. It cooks through in the recipe. 🙂
I’ve made this several times and it’s fantastic!! Thanks!
I just made this last night and it was a hit. I left off the red pepper flakes for my kids and used it for the adults. It was gobbled up.
Sauce is delicious! I kept dipping things into it because it was so good !
It's 1 cup, but if you find that its too thick use 1 1/2.
you say in the recipe to have 1 cup water but below it say 1 1/2 c water. Which is it??
About 6 servings. 🙂
mmmm looks so yummy! how amny people does it serve though?! 🙂
I’m really digging this food blog of yours, this orange chicken dish looks absolutely delicious!
http://preparednesspro.wordpress.com
I made your recipe tonight and it was absolutely delicious!! Thanks again.
YUMMY!
WOW!! This sounds like a GREAT recipe. Delicious, vibrant flavors and the photo speaks even more.. Love your blog just stumbled upon it!
OOOOH! This looks so yummy. I definitely plan to make it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
This looks so delicious and I’ve been getting so many oranges in my co-op! I can’t wait to make this! Yummy!!