Orange Chicken (Panda Express Copycat)
Orange Chicken patterned after Panda Express' signature dish is easy to make, amazingly delicious and definitely a restaurant quality meal.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 ¼ pounds skinless and boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of all fat (See Tip 1)
- 1 cup (5-ounces) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (2 ½-ounces) corn starch
- 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup (8 ounces) water
- 4 cups vegetable oil (See Tip 2)
Orange Sauce
- 1 ½ Tablespoons water
- 1 ½ Tablespoons corn starch
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- ¼ cup (1.75-ounces) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (1.875-ounces) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (2-ounces) orange juice
- ¼ cup (2-ounces) white vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons (1-ounce) soy sauce (See Tip 3)
Instructions
Chicken
- Cut chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces.
- Whisk together flour, corn starch and salt. Add egg, oil and water. Whisk until the batter is smooth and the consistency of pancake batter. (See Tip 4)
- Add chicken pieces to batter; stir to coat chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a wok or a heavy bottom pan to 375°F. Add chicken, allowing excess batter to drip, to hot oil in batches. Cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Cook remaining chicken.
Orange Sauce
- Combine water and corn starch in a small bowl; set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil to wok or pan over medium-high heat. Add crushed red pepper, ginger and garlic; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar; stir to combine. Add orange juice; cook until sugars are dissolved, a minute or two.
- Add vinegar and soy sauce; stir to combine. Heat to boiling. Stirring constantly, add corn starch slurry in stages until consistency of a syrup is reached. (See Tip 5)
- Add cooked chicken; stir to completely coat chicken. Heat for several minutes until chicken is heated throughout.
- Yield: 4 servings.
Tips/Notes
- Chicken thighs work best in this recipe because of their tenderness and moisture. Chicken breasts tend to dry out.
- I like to use peanut oil when cooking the chicken because of its high-heat tolerance. If you don't have peanut oil, you can use vegetable oil. However, I would definitely not recommend using olive oil.
- I use low-sodium soy sauce.
- If necessary, add more water or flour to achieve the desired consistency of the batter.
- If the orange sauce is too thick, add additional orange juice to achieve the desired consistency. If the orange sauce is not thick enough, add additional corn starch slurry.
Nutrition
Calories: 582kcalCarbohydrates: 70gProtein: 33gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 181mgSodium: 1292mgPotassium: 471mgFiber: 1gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 170IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 3mg
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