
Orange Chicken
Orange chicken is a dish loved my many people in the United States. Here is my version of orange chicken which is a variation of my dad’s orange chicken recipe. My dad first learned to make orange chicken from a great Hunan Chef during his culinary studies. I learned by watching my dad when I was 16. The key ingredient in most orange chicken recipes is dried orange peel, but you can use orange zest or follow my recipe instead. For a crisp chicken texture even with the sauce, an important step is to use Potato Starch. Make the potato starch/water mixture ahead of time (at least 2 hours ahead). I like to mix the potato starch and water and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
Serve orange chicken with fried rice, steamed rice, or even lo mein.
This recipe makes about 3 servings
Ingredients
- 10 oz Chicken Leg Meat
- a little bit salt and pepper to season meat
- 1 egg white
- 7 tablespoon Potato Starch
- 6 tablespoon water
- oil to fry
For the sauce:
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili oil
- 3 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
- 3 tablespoon orange peel water
- 2 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon potato starch and 2 tablespoon water
Cooking Instructions
- Mix 7 tablespoon Potato Starch
with 6 tablespoon water and let the potato starch settle in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (overnight preferred). Squeeze an orange until you have 3 tablespoon fresh orange juice. Boil the left over peels in 1 1/2 cup water for 10 minutes. Let it cool down a bit (you’ll only use 3 tablespoon of the orange peel water).
- Mix the fresh orange juice, orange peel water, sugar, rice vinegar, and soy sauce in an easy pour container. Prepare the other sauce ingredients on the side. Cut chicken to bite sized pieces and lightly season with salt and pepper.
- When the potato starch and water have separated completely, drain the water. Mash the potato starch with a spoon and mix with the chicken and 1 egg white.
- Deep Fry the chicken at 375 degrees F for about 3 minutes. Drain the oil from the chicken on a paper towel and wait for the oil to heat back up. Fry all the chicken together once more for about another 3 to 4 minutes. This will keep the chicken crisp even when the sauce is added. Stir the oil with long chopsticks to let the steam (moisture) out once in a while.
- In a wok, add 1 tablespoon chili oil and quickly stir-fry the minced garlic, ginger, and green onion. When aromatic, add the orange sauce mixture and stir well. When it comes to a boil, quickly mix 1/2 tablespoon potato starch and 2 tablespoon water and add to the orange sauce mixture. Keep stirring and when the sauce thickens, add the fried chicken and sauté until the chicken is completely covered in sauce.
- Move to a dish and garnish with fresh orange slices if desired. Serve with fried or steamed rice or lo mein.