Orange chicken was one of my favorite things to order whenever we would get Chinese takeout growing up. I also like getting samples of it at the shopping mall food court. I love the sweet and sour sauce on the crispy fried chicken. It’s sticky and sweet and indulgent.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Active: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 4 medium), cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) orange juice
- 1/4 cup (70 grams) apricot jam
- 1/4 cup (70 grams) sweet chile sauce, preferably Mae Ploy
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 to 3 quarts neutral oil
- One 10-ounce/283-gram package tempura flour
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
- Cooked white rice, for serving
Instructions
- For the chicken: Combine the chicken and salt in a bowl and massage the salt into the chicken. Cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to 1 hour.
- To make the sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the orange juice, apricot jam, chile sauce, rice vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with a few spoonfuls of the hot mixture to make a slurry. Add the slurry back to the saucepan and whisk to combine. Continue cooking until the sauce is thickened and syrupy; this should only take about 30 seconds of boiling. Remove from the heat and reserve in the pan.
- To finish: Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat to 375 degrees F.
- To make the batter: Add 3 tablespoons tempura flour to a medium bowl. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat. In a separate large bowl, add the remaining tempura flour and whisk in 1 1/4 cups very cold water. (The batter should still have a few lumps.) Add the dredged chicken to the batter mixture and toss to coat.
- When the oil reaches 375 degrees, fry the chicken pieces in batches, turning frequently, until the chicken is golden brown, 3 minutes total. Remove to a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain of excess oil. Allow the oil to return to temperature before adding another batch.
- When ready to serve, warm the sauce in the pan, then toss in the fried chicken pieces. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the scallions. Serve with rice.
Reviews
It was good but frying every chicken bit took forever. Unfortunately my kids didn’t care for it, but the adults did. Not sure I’d go through the hassle of making again. The orange sauce was delicious though
I changed it up as well, used ground chicken breast with onions, garlic, chili powder and turmeric, then added the sauce…didn’t have too much orange flavor, need zest and added ginger for a pop as well… overall very good, will make this often
I don’t fry, just because of the waste and mess. I baked frozen high quality tenders, then added to the sauce. Easy, quick dinner!
Have made this dish many times using tofu instead of chicken – absolutely love it! Is great as an everyday meal and fun to serve for special occasions
We love this chicken, make it once a month.
Molly Yeh is a perfect example of Shakespear’s “jack of some trades and a MASTER OF NONE”. She doesn’t know who she is and her cooking/recipes reflect that. WHY Food Network chose to keep her on the air and let Valerie Bertinelli go IS A BIG MISTAKE! She is NO REE DRUMMOND — stop trying to make fetch happen Yeh with your “Bernie” restaurant. Go back to cooking school.
Made this recipe MANY times! I add fresh Garlic and Ginger, it’s soooo GOOD!!
What a messy dish. I don’t deep fry almost ever. It’s very challenging to get the right temp. Making the batter and chicken took 3 big bowls. In the end, I think the vinegar was a little too much and was surprised that zest was not in the recipe. I did zest one of the oranges. The dish came out okay, but I will not be going through that rigmarole again.
Followed all the steps and turned out amazing. Thank you.
question – can you air fry the chicken dipped in rice flour (sprayed with veg oil) to achieve the same results and then dip in sauce?