Orange-flavored chicken that is tart, sweet, and sour.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup ice water
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- vegetable oil for frying
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup orange marmalade
- ½ cup chopped fresh pineapple (Optional)
- 2 tablespoons pineapple juice
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Beat ice water and egg together in a bowl using a whisk or a fork. Add baking soda and salt and mix to combine. Add 1 cup flour to water mixture; mix until blended but lumpy.
- Place remaining 1 cup flour in a separate bowl. Cover each piece of chicken in flour, then move to egg mixture and cover, letting excess batter drip off.
- Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large, deep frying pan over medium heat until a drop of water crackles when placed into oil.
- Place chicken into the hot oil and fry, flipping if needed, until no longer pink in the center and golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
- Combine cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl.
- Combine sugar, ketchup, vinegar, 1/2 cup water, orange marmalade, pineapple, pineapple juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; add cornstarch mixture. Reduce heat and let simmer, stirring frequently, until desired thickness is reached.
- Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
- You can substitute hot sauce for red pepper flakes, if desired.
- Make sure to bring the orange mixture to a boil, otherwise it will be starchy.
- We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. Amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and specific type of oil used.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 455 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 75 g |
| Cholesterol | 56 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 481 mg |
| Sugars | 42 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
For ease and speed, I used Perdue’s Popcorn Chicken. I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup (plenty) and used canned pineapple. The orange flavor didn’t come through as much as I would have liked. Next time, I’ll either add orange peel strips or leave out the sugar and add more marmalade.
Did not prepare chicken as described but just fried with vegetables. The sauce was fantastic. I substituted vegetables with what I had. Can’t wait to make it again!
Love what she did. I too added red and green bell peppers, some halved cherry tomatoes, some onion, and used the juice from the can of pineapple instead of so much water. Good directions in the recipe. What came out was better than most I’ve had in restaurants. I served over basmati rice.
Very good but, kind of boring as written. Add a red bell pepper and an onion..both in bite size pieces and you’ve got a great dish!
This dish is good, but excessively sweet, even though I reduced the sugar in the sauce to 3/4 cup. If I make it again, I’ll try it with 1/2 cup of sugar.
My batter was extremely thick and I could not coat the chicken pieces. After adding another 1/2 cup of water and an additional 1/4 tsp baking soda the batter was of a dipping consistency. I added 1 chopped green bell pepper and upped the fresh pineapple to 1 cup, adding both to the sauce. I was unable to taste the orange marmalade and if I ever make this again I would leave it out. Thank you for sharing your recipe.