This crispy orange chicken comes together in 20 minutes, it is delicious and you are going to love this. You will start by making the batter for the chicken. You need a light batter, add flour in a bowl to that, add an egg, garlic, salt and pepper and cold water then mix that all together until well combined. Take 8 to 9 chicken thighs that are chopped to bite sizes chunks and dredge then in 2 tbsp of cornflour then add them to the batter and mix them in.
Add oil to a wok or a large frying pan and heat over medium to high heat, while the oil is heating, make the orange sauce by squeezing the juice of two oranges into a bowl then add the zest of half an orange, sugar, dark soy sauce, minced garlic and rice vinegar then mix all that together. Once the oil is hot, you will add the chicken pieces and fry them until nice and crispy, this should take about ten minutes working in around two or three batches.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and place on a paper towel. Remove the oil from the pan then turn the oil to medium and add the orange sauce and bring it to a boil and let it simmer for a couple of minutes until it thickens then add the chicken in and let it cook in the sauce for a couple of minutes. Serve the orange chicken with white rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds. This orange chicken is better than taking out and will be ready in 20 minutes. Enjoy.
Ingredients;
Chicken Coating and Chicken
- 3/4 cup (90g) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 medium egg
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- 1/3 cup + 1tbsp (90ml) cold water
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 8 chicken thigh fillets (skinless and boneless) – chopped into bite-size chunks
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil – for frying
Orange Sauce;
- Juice of 2 large oranges
- Zest of half an orange
- 6 tbsp caster sugar – or superfine sugar
- 5 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic – minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), mixed with 3 tbsp cold water to form a slurry – (optional)
Instructions;
- Start by making the batter for the chicken. In a large bowl, add the plain (all-purpose) flour, egg, garlic salt, salt, pepper and water and mix together using a whisk until smooth.
- Place the chopped chicken thighs in a separate bowl and sprinkle on the cornflour (cornstarch). Toss together so the chicken is coated in the cornflour.
- Add the chicken to the batter, and mix together so the chicken is coated in the batter.
- Add the oil to a wok or large frying pan (skillet) and heat over medium-high heat until hot.
- While the oil is heating, make the orange sauce. In a medium bowl, mix together the orange juice and zest, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and rice vinegar. Put to one side.
- When the oil is hot, add the chicken to the oil. I find it’s best to work in two or even three batches for the crispiest chicken. Add the chicken in a piece at a time, and cook for 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally with tongs, until golden brown and cooked throughout.
- Once cooked, place the chicken in a bowl lined with kitchen paper while you cook the second batch. You can add a little more oil in if needed, to ensure the chicken is surrounded by oil, but be sure to keep the temperature up so the oil is bubbling and hot.
- Carefully dispose of any leftover oil from the wok and turn down the heat to medium. Add the orange sauce to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes until slightly thickened.
- Add the chicken back to the wok and carefully toss together until the chicken is coated in the sauce. I find the best way to do this is to slide a spatula underneath the chicken, lift it up and turn it overdo this repeatedly until all the chicken is coated.
- Serve the chicken over rice, topped with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
