Orange Chicken Recipe

November 11, 2008

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To much of my disbelief, orange chicken is actually a real Chinese dish. Called 陈皮鸡 in Chinese language, orange chicken is of Hunan origin. As with most Chinese dishes served in the United States, the likes of Panda Express have pretty much butchered it to a goopy, sticky, and unappetizing mess. So, when a few of my readers emailed me and requested for the recipe of orange chicken, I was skeptical, very skeptical.

Anyway, after some research on Chinese websites, I confirmed the origin--and recipe--of this dish. Orange chicken (also known as orange peel chicken or tangerine chicken) derives its name from the use of dried orange peel (陈皮) in the recipe. As dried orange peel is not commonly available for most people, I used fresh orange zest as a replacement, which works equally well. As orange chicken is originally a Hunan dish, you can't do without some dried red chilies...

So here you have it, my take on this very popular dish. As with other favorite Chinese recipes such as Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, mongolian beef, and cashew chicken, they are much better prepared at home than take-outs from your neighborhood Chinese joints.

If you like Chinese food, do check out all my Chinese food recipes.

Recipe: Orange Chicken/Orange Peel Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 pound chicken breast (cut into bite-size cubes)
5 dried red chilies (cut into 1.5 inch length, seeded and soaked in warm water)
1 teaspoon minced orange zest
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 inch ginger (minced)
1 stalk scallion (use the white part only, cut into thin threads for garnishing)
2 teaspoons oil
Oil for deep frying

Orange Sauce:

1/4 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons canned chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
5 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
1 teaspoon corn starch
Salt to taste

Frying Batter:

1/2 cup water
2 oz. all-purpose flour
1 oz. corn starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 egg
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 small pinch of salt

Method:

Mix the orange sauce ingredients and set aside.

Mix the frying batter and dip the chicken meat into the batter. Heat up a pot/wok of cooking oil. When the cooking oil is hot enough for frying, drop the chicken pieces into the oil and deep fry them until they turn golden brown or crispy. Transfer them out onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

In a wok, add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil and quickly stir-fry the minced garlic and ginger until aromatic. Add in the dried red chilies and toss around until you smell the spicy aroma. Follow by the minced orange zest and then chicken. Quickly stir the chicken around before adding the orange sauce mixture. Continue to stir-fry until the sauce thicken. Dish out, garnish with the scallion threads and serve immediately with steamed white rice.

Labels: Chinese Food, Chinese Recipes