Chinese Orange Chicken Recipes

ASIAN ORANGE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.
• Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
• Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

CHINESE ORANGE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Start the chicken:
• In a shallow, medium bowl toss the chicken pieces with the soy sauce and wine. Let stand while you make the sauce.
• Make the orange sauce:
• Using a vegetable peeler, remove 4 lengthwise strips of zest from 1 orange-each strip should be about 3/4 inch wide and 3 1/2 to 4 inches long. Arrange the zest in one layer between paper towels and microwave on high in 20-second increments until dry and brittle but not browned, 60 to 80 seconds total. Let the zest cool then finely chop it. If desired, use a Microplane to remove some of the remaining zest from the orange and reserve it for garnish. (If desired, zest the second orange for additional garnish.)
• Squeeze enough juice from both oranges to measure 1/2 cup. In a small bowl, whisk together the juice and 2 teaspoons cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved.
• In a 10-inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add the garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper, and dried orange zest and stir-fry until golden, about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce, wine, vinegar, and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 5 seconds. Stir the orange juice-cornstarch mixture then add it to the skillet. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside while you fry the chicken.
• Fry the chicken:
• Line a large rimmed baking sheet with paper towels.
• In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 365°F. Meanwhile, coat half of the chicken, a couple pieces at a time, in cornstarch, making sure they are well coated and gently knocking off any excess, then transfer to a plate. Carefully add all the coated chicken to the hot oil, spacing the pieces apart from each other. Fry the chicken, turning it once or twice, until deep golden, about 5 minutes. While frying, adjust the heat as necessary to keep the oil at 365°F. Using a metal spider or a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken as done to the paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Continue to coat and fry the remaining chicken in the same manner, returning the oil to 365°F between batches.
• Once the chicken is fried, place the skillet of reserved orange sauce over moderately low heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring and thinning the sauce with a little water if necessary. Add the chicken, and stir until thoroughly coated in sauce.
• To serve:
• Transfer the chicken to a serving dish and garnish with the scallions, and, if desired, the red chile slices and the freshly grated orange zest. Serve immediately with rice.

ASIAN ORANGE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.
• Place the chicken pieces into a reseal able plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• In another reseal able plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
• Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low; add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
• * I usually skip the marinating part and just make the sauce. I dip the chicken pieces in a batter of 4 egg whites, Whip egg whites in a medium bowl until foamy. Stir in 2/3cup of mochiko until it has a pasty consistency. Dip the pieces in the batter and deep fry. This batter gives it a light fluffy texture, the way you get them in the restaurants. You can find Mochiko in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores. Flour will not produce the same kind of texture; it really is worth finding the mochiko if you plan on making it this way.

ORANGE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Put the rice in a saucepan with 2 cups water. Season with salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and lower the heat to maintain a bare simmer. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, then remove from the heat allow to rest covered.
• Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg and 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the batter and toss to evenly coat.
• Combine the garlic, brown sugar, marmalade, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, orange juice, orange zest, vinegar, water, the remaining 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch and the scallion whites in a large bowl. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the peanut oil. Using tongs, add the chicken in an even layer and brown 4 minutes per side, turning once, until cooked through. Don't crowd the pan, so work in batches if need be. Also, don't move it around-let it brown to get a nice crust. Remove the chicken with tongs to a plate and reserve.
• Place a nonstick skillet over medium heat Pour the sauce mixture into the pan and cook until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes, then add the chicken to the pan. Cook until sauce is reduced to a glaze that coats the chicken, about 4 minutes.
• Place a scoop of rice in individual serving bowls, then top with the orange chicken. Garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and sliced scallion greens.

SLOW COOKER ORANGE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Line a 3 to 6-quart slow cooker with a liner if using one. I prefer to use liners for easy cleanup.
• Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over bottom of the liner or slow cooker.
• To a large, gallon-sized ziptop plastic bag, add the chicken, cornstarch, salt, pepper, seal bag, and toss to coat chicken evenly. Add chicken to slow cooker, evenly distributed; set aside.
• To a 2-cup measuring cup or medium bowl, add the orange marmalade, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger (I prefer 1 teaspoon but some people are sensitive to ginger), garlic, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and stir to combine.
• Pour mixture over the chicken, using a spoon to distribute the sauce as necessary, making sure all pieces are coated.
• Cook covered on high for about 2 hours or on low for about 4 hours. If cooking on high, start checking at 90 minutes and if cooking on low, start checking at 3 hours. All slow cookers vary so cook until chicken is done (reaches 165F on an instant read thermometer).
• Add chicken to a plate with as much extra cooking sauce spooned over the top as desired, garnish with sesame seeds, green onions, optional orange wedges, and serve immediately.