Orange Chicken Recipe
Published February 2, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This easy-to-prepare Orange Chicken Recipe of fluffy batter fried chicken in a sweet orange sour sauce is the perfect weeknight Chinese meal for family and friends. You will love how quickly this comes together and just how flavorful it is. You may never order takeout again.
We love quick Asian-Inspired weeknight meals that are jam-packed with flavor. If you do, too, then check out my Mongolian Beef or Egg Fried Rice.
Orange Chicken
Orange Chicken is a Chinese American dish consisting of battered fried chicken that is coated in a sweet and sour orange glaze. It’s commonly served with steamed white rice. You will find variations of this recipe on almost every Chinese menu in the United States.
Orange Chicken was created in 1987 by Panda Express’s Executive Chef, Andy Kao. While it’s not a classic Chinese recipe, its inspiration can be drawn from General Tso’s chicken and Hunan cooking style, which includes frying, braising, and rich, silky sauces.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken – I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. However, you can also use boneless skinless thigh or drum meat or a combination of all three.
- Oranges – Regular navel oranges are what you need. You could substitute with mandarins or tangerines if all are accessible.
- Corn Starch – Regular corn starch is what’s needed for this. You can substitute it with potato starch.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is what’s needed. Feel free to substitute with bread flour if that’s all you have.
- Water – Plain tap water works fine.
- Eggs – Large, chilled eggs or at room temperature work perfectly for this orange chicken.
- Oil – You will need some neutral-flavored cooking oil like avocado oil. In addition, I used some sesame oil when coating the chicken.
- Wine – I used Shaoxing wine, but you can substitute it with dry sherry wine.
- Vinegar – Rice wine vinegar is best to use in this recipe. However, you can use regular white distilled vinegar.
- Sugar – I used plain granulated sugar. You could substitute with light brown sugar or honey.
- Soy Sauce – Any good soy sauce, such as tamari, will work. You can also use low-sodium soy if you want to cut back on salt.
- Oyster Sauce – You can find oyster sauce in the international aisle of most grocery stores. There isn’t a good substitute for this as it is so unique. You may be able to find a vegan oyster sauce if you don’t eat shellfish or have an allergy.
- Ginger – Fresh peeled and grated ginger is used in the sauce.
- Garlic – You will need a few freshly grated garlic cloves.
How to Make Orange Chicken
In a bowl, add the orange zest, orange juice, water, Shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and optional chili flakes and mix to combine.
Cut the chicken into roughly 1-inch cubes. Place them in a large bowl.
In the bowl with the chicken, add the Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, water, and eggs and mix until thoroughly combined.
Next, mix in the cornstarch, flour, salt, and white pepper until combined. It should be a wet batter like Tempura.
Add the cooking oil to a large wok or non-stick skillet and heat over medium heat until it reaches 350°.
Place in individual battered chicken pieces at a time until the pan is full without getting the chicken to close to one another to avoid clumping.
Cook the chicken for 1 minute before using a slotted spoon to move the chicken pieces around and cooking for a further 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked throughout.
Repeat the process by cooking the chicken in batches and draining on a plate with paper towels.
Once the chicken is done, drain all but about 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and over low to medium heat add in the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 to 45 seconds or just until fragrant.
Pour in the orange sauce and turn the heat to medium.
Once the sauce begins to gently bubble add the slurry 1 to 2 teaspoons at a time until it becomes silky and thick.
Place in the cooked fried chicken and toss until coated.
Serve the orange chicken with an optional garnish of sesame seeds.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 1 hour ahead, but keep the chicken separate from the sauce. Keep both warm before tossing and serving.
How to Reheat: Add a few tablespoons of cooking oil to a large wok over medium heat, add your desired amount of orange chicken to the wok, and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until hot.
How to Store: Cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This will not freeze well.
Chef Notes + Tips
- The batter should resemble a thick tempura-style batter when mixing the flour and cornstarch with the marinated chicken. Add a few tablespoons of water or another egg if it’s dry.
- To make a slurry, mix 1 tablespoon of water with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch until combined.
- Substitute the fresh ginger and garlic with 1 teaspoon each of dry ginger and garlic.
- Another soy sauce substitute is coconut aminos.
More Chinese Recipes
Video
Orange Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- zest of 1 large orange
- juice of 2 large oranges, about ¾ cup total
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 optional hand ground mild chili or ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 2 finely grated garlic cloves
- 1 inch chunk of peeled, finely grated ginger
For the Chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1” cubes
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup water
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup corn starch
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- cooking oil
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl add the orange zest, orange juice, water, Shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and optional chili flakes and mix to combine. Set it to the side.
- Cut the chicken into roughly 1-inch cubes. Place them in a large bowl.
- In the bowl with the chicken add in the Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, water, and eggs and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Next, mix in the corn starch, flour, salt, and white pepper until combined. It should be a wet batter like tempura.
- Add about 1 cup or so of cooking oil to a large wok or non-stick skillet and heat over medium heat until it reaches 350°.
- Place in individual battered chicken pieces at a time until the pan is full without getting the chicken to close to one another to avoid clumping.
- Cook the chicken for 1 minute before using a slotted spoon to move the chicken pieces around and cooking for a further 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked throughout.
- Repeat the process by cooking the chicken in batches and draining on a plate with paper towels.
- Once the chicken is done, drain all but about 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and over low to medium heat add in the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 to 45 seconds or just until fragrant.
- Pour in the orange sauce and turn the heat to medium.
- Once the sauce begins to gently bubble add the slurry 1 to 2 teaspoons at a time until it becomes silky and thick.
- Place in the cooked fried chicken and toss until coated.
- Serve the orange chicken with an optional garnish of sesame seeds.
Easy to follow. This orange chicken was better than any restaurant. Chicken is tender and sauce is to die for.
Fantastic!
So very flavorful!! And the batter was perfect. Thank u so much Chef! Once again u’ve helped me make a wonderful dinner.
Hi Chef! A couple of questions; I would like to make this as an appetizer. I have a deep frier – can I use that to make this dish??
sure
Delicious 😋 mmmm 😋 thank you ChefBilly 😁🤩
I wish I could give this 10 stars!! Sooooo flavorful. I’ve made this dish before but ur recipe is far better. You never let me down Chef!! Thanks again!!
Great recipe. Just brown a little longer to get the crunch.
Just wow. Flavor is out of this world. Takes a bit of prep time but oh so worth it. The orange really pops. Highly recommend adding the pepper flakes. Definitely on the keepr list.
appreciate you trying it
This was fresh & taste excellent, I put a little bit of toasted sesame oil on the rice to make it more fragrant. I wanted something different. This hit the spot. Thank you .
I posted my picture of the dish on your Facebook page with the recipe you shared
appreciate you trying it!
So, so amazingly delicious! The flavours of the ingredients blend together to make a completely nummy sauce. Nothing overwhelms. I can’t wait to make it again! Thank you for yet another fabulous recipe!
Chef,
Made this last night….FANTASTIC… I never had this from Panda Express but now I need to try it to see how close it is.. but it is definitely in our menu rotation now. Thanks for the recipe
Can’t get Shaoxing wine. Substitute?
The substitutes are in the ingredients and substitutions section towards the top of the page.
Is there a way for you to make your recipes “pin-able”? I see you are on Pinterest, it would just be easier to pin from here!
Thanks!
You can, click pin it under share.
Not yet but everything I make from your recipes are great no doubt this will also be amazing
This sounds delicious ad fairly authentic. I haven’t made it because if the wine. I don’t drink or cook with wine of any type and have asked before in other recipes for substitutions that will keep the flavor profile. Please consider us non-alcohol cooks when presenting your recipes. The alcohol does not cook completely out so using it is not an option.
As I’ve stated many times there really are no great substitutes for alcohol because the flavors are so unique. I always recommend skipping it when it comes to deglazing or for things like this, adding more of the other ingredients like water, soy, or oyster sauce.
WOW!!, I like your recipe way more than I like mine. I might use the oranges and tangerines both. I love the tang of the tangerine juice really well and use it a lot for marinades in other foords.
BEST chef around!!! Everything I make from you is perfect!!!