ORANGE CHICKEN.
There’s nothing like Chinese for comfort food! 🥡🥢
This recipe for Orange Chicken only has four simple steps. Instead of making a sauce from scratch for this meal, I found the perfect ready-made orange chicken sauce that’ll cut your time in half!
This recipe for Orange Chicken only has four simple steps. Instead of making a sauce from scratch for this meal, I found the perfect ready-made orange chicken sauce that’ll cut your time in half!
Prep: 30 m • Cook: 20 m • Level: Easy • Servings: 4
MAKE IT KUNG PAO CHICKEN
OR SWEET & SOUR.
The brand sauce I use is Lee Kum Kee and they have plenty of Asian sauces to choose from! If you’re not into orange chicken, then make it kung pao or sweet & sour! All you’ll need to do is change the last step in the method by using whatever sauce you prefer. Keep in mind that you’ll need one sauce pouch per pound of chicken!
BREADING THE CHICKEN.
I’ll be honest, I absolutely hate breading chicken. It’s just so tedious and very annoying, in my opinion, but it’s well worth it! All you’ll need to bread the chicken is about 3-4 whisked eggs in one bowl and a bunch of flour in the other. To make my time go by quicker, I poured the whisked eggs into a big bowl with the cubed (and salted/peppered) chicken in it and mixed the chicken with the egg. Then, I tossed about 10 pieces of chicken at a time into the bowl with the flour and coated them well. Then, I’d set them to the side on a dry cutting board. This will be more quick than dipping one piece of chicken at a time!
THE SAUCE.
Click here to see what the sauce pouch looks like. You should be able to find this at your local grocery store! I buy mine from Pete’s where they also have Kung Pao and a couple other flavors. I remember buying them from Jewel a few times as well. You will need one pouch for every pound of chicken you make!
WHAT YOU NEED.
- 2 lb. thick chicken breast
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, +
- 3 eggs, whisked
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 2 Orange Chicken Sauce Pouches (Lee Kum Kee)
- Cooking oil
THE METHOD.
- After washing the thick chicken breasts, remove any excess fat, and pat dry. Slice the chicken in half (horizontally), then slice each half into strips. Then, cut the strips into three cubes. Each cube of chicken should be 1 - 1.5 inches and they should all be about the same size. Finally, set the cubed chicken aside in a large bowl.
- Spice the chicken with a good amount of salt and black pepper, and rub in. Then, prepare two bowls: one with the whisked eggs and the other with the flour. Keep in mind you may need more flour on hand. Before you begin breading the chicken, fill a large and deep pan with cooking oil about 3 - 4 inches deep. Allow the oil to heat up on medium-high heat while you bread the chicken.
- You can bread the chicken in one of two ways: dip a few pieces of chicken at a time into the egg, then coat the chicken in the flour, and set aside on a clean tray. Or you could pour the egg all over the chicken and mix it into it, then toss a handful of chicken at a time into the flour (after draining any runny egg from it) to coat thoroughly. I found the second one to be less time consuming!
- Once all the chicken is breaded, the oil should be hot enough to begin frying. Test the oil by carefully putting one piece of chicken in it. If it begins the bubble, then you should be good to go! Depending on how large your pan is, put in at least half your chicken, if possible. Allow to fry until golden, then remove with a strainer spoon, and set aside on a tray with paper towel on it to soak the excess oil.
- Lastly, when all the chicken has been fried, toss it all in a wide and shallow pan with the heat on medium-high. Pour the sauce pouches all over the check and mix it in, making sure each piece of chicken gets some love. Allow the sauce to cook with the chicken for about 5 minutes, then remove onto serving platter.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onion, and you’re all ready for some delicious Orange Chicken!