Recipe Background
When you're craving orange chicken, there's no need to dial up the local Chinese restaurant. You can get easier, tastier, and faster chicken right from your own kitchen! This Homestyle Orange Chicken has a sticky, sweet, citrus-flavored sauce coating the pan-fried golden chicken, exactly the way you love it! Served over rice, Homestyle Orange Chicken has the home-comfort and joy of eating Chinese food all rolled into one dish!
When you're craving orange chicken, there's no need to dial up the local Chinese restaurant. You can get easier, tastier, and faster chicken right from your own kitchen! This Homestyle Orange Chicken has a sticky, sweet, citrus-flavored sauce coating the pan-fried golden chicken, exactly the way you love it! Served over rice, Homestyle Orange Chicken has the home-comfort and joy of eating Chinese food all rolled into one dish!
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- zest from 1 orange
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon ginger freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For the chicken:
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch divided
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 pound chicken thighs boneless, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- kosher salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 3 cups canola oil
- rice to taste, cooked, for serving
- scallions to taste, sliced, for garnish
Directions
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, cook the orange zest, the orange juice, the soy sauce, the brown sugar, the white vinegar, the chicken stock, and the ginger until bubbling.
- Whisk 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch into the sauce mixture and cook until the sauce thickens, about 5-6 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch and the egg whites together until frothy.
- Add the chicken to the egg mixture and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- In another bowl, whisk the flour, the baking powder, and the remaining cornstarch together.
- Season the flour mixture with the salt and the pepper.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels.
- Transfer the chicken pieces, one at a time, from the egg mixture and into the flour mixture, letting the excess egg whites drip off before placing them in the flour.
- Roll the chicken pieces in the flour mixture until coated and then leave them in the flour mixture.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large Dutch oven over medium heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Cook the chicken in batches until it's golden-brown and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 3-4 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking sheet to drain, and season with the salt and the pepper.
- Add the chicken to the sauce and gently toss to coat.
- Serve the chicken over the rice and garnish with the scallions.
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