10 Delicious Orange Chicken Recipes You Should Try Out
A fusion dish, orange chicken is a blend of American and Chinese flavors. While the classic dish calls for chopped chicken pieces coated in a batter and deep fried before being dipped in a succulent and tangy orange-chili sauce, there are certain variations that you could make to the classic orange chicken.
10 Must Try Orange Chicken Recipes:
Here are the 10 such orange chicken recipes, including the classic!
1. Classic Orange Chicken:
This recipe bears close resemblance to the traditional recipe. Deep fried chicken pieces glazed with a typical tangy chili sauce—a yummy way to kick off a boring weekend!
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk soy sauce with ginger and sake.
2. Add the thighs, mix well, and keep aside for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes, dredge the chicken in the potato starch lightly. Keep rolling to ensure even coating.
4. Add ½ inch oil to a deep frying pan heated on medium to high flame.
5. Add chicken pieces and deep fry to golden brown.
6. Transfer to kitchen towels and drain off the excess oil, if any.
7. In a small saucepan, whisk orange juice with marmalade, potato starch, and salt until well combined.
8. Place on medium to high flame and heat, stirring continuously, until the sauce bubbles and thickens. Avoid lumps and clumps.
9. Add fried pieces and keep turning for even coating.
10. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with finely chopped spring onions, and serve with chopsticks.
2. Orange Chicken Stir Fry:
Stir fried chicken makes a tasty accompaniment with plain spaghetti or even rice and Indian flat breads. This one gets its slightly tangy taste from the inclusion of orange.
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Crack eggs into a bowl. Mix in salt and pepper and beat until the mixture is well combined.
2. Dip chicken legs into the egg mixture and then roll in the cornstarch. And then arrange those on a plate.
3. Heat olive oil in a deep frying pan kept on medium to high heat.
4. Add chicken pieces and deep fry until golden brown.
5. Using a slotted spoon, remove the fried chicken legs and transfer to a kitchen towels to drain the excess oil.
6. Meanwhile, whisk orange juice and zest with cornstarch.
7. Place a skillet on medium to high flame and heat the sesame oil.
8. Add chopped scallions and cook until tender.
9. Mix in vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce and cook until the sugar completely dissolves.
10. Mix in orange juice mixture and boil for 10 seconds.
11. Turn off the heat.
12. Arrange the fried chicken strips in a large mixing bowl, pour the orange juice mixture over the chicken, and toss to coat.
13. Garnish with green spring onions and serve hot.
3. Orange Chicken Salad:
An easy to make recipe, this makes use of cooked chicken. You can use leftover cooked chicken for this recipe too. It is so effortless, yet makes a perfect party delight.
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, mix celery with walnuts, spring onions, mayonnaise, orange juice, pepper, and salt.
2. Add chicken and eggs and toss to ensure even coating.
3. Add avocado and oranges and toss well.
4. Serve atop chilled salad greens.
4. Orange Chicken Rice:
A complete, wholesome meal, this is perfect for family lunches as well as a main course for a party. Whatever be the occasion, you will surely find ample reasons to rejoice in the taste of this dish.
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Place a large, non-stick pan on medium to high flame.
2. Add chicken strips and cook, stirring every now and then, until done.
3. Mix in the orange juice and dressing.
4. Let the mixture come to a boil.
5. Add thawed frozen veggies and cook until the veggies are crisp tender, stirring intermittently.
6. Place rice in a deep bowl, top with chicken mixture, garnish with nuts, and serve hot.
5. Baked Orange Chicken:
Orange chicken, traditionally, uses deep fried chicken strips. Here is a healthy variation of the same. And, to be frank, the taste is not compromised!
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 205 degree Celsius.
2. Place a skillet with 1 tbsp oil on medium to high flame.
3. Heat oil until slightly smoking.
4. Add chicken strips and cook until both the sides turn evenly brown. Transfer to a bowl using slotted spoon.
5. Whisk water with vinegar, soy sauce, and orange juice in a medium sized saucepan.
6. Place on medium to high flame and heat the mixture, stirring, until well combined.
7. Mix in orange zest, crushed pepper, ginger, and sugar.
8. Let the mixture come to a boil.
9. In a small mixing bowl, dissolve corn starch in water.
10. Add corn starch mixture to the boiling sauce and let the mixture bubble and thicken, stirring continuously, to avoid lumps.
11. Take off from the heat and keep aside.
12. Arrange chicken in a slightly greased shallow baking pan.
13. Top with 2/3 of the orange sauce and bake for 20 minutes.
14. Take out and serve atop rice alongside rest of the sauce.
6. Orange Chicken Pasta Salad:
A zesty salad, it introduces you to a novel world of flavors that will leave you asking for more. Use a creamy mayonnaise dressing or some other rich dressing of your choice for spiraling up the festive quotient of this humble delicacy.
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Dip chicken strips in egg mixture and keep aside for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile heat oil in a large, deep frying pan, placed on medium to high flame.
3. Add chicken strips into hot oil and cook until both the sides turn evenly brown.
4. Using a slotted spoon, remove from oil and place on paper towels to remove the excess oil.
5. In a large mixing bowl, mix orange juice with seasoning and dressing. Whisk well to ensure that all the ingredients blend well.
6. Add chicken strips and pasta and using a spoon, mix to ensure even coating.
7. Fold in almonds and oranges.
8. Refrigerate for about 3 hours before serving.
9. Spoon into chilled places, garnish with a sprig of parsley, and serve.
7. Orange Herb Roasted Chicken:
Chicken is roasted wholly, but, yet remains tender in this dish. An intensely flavored delicacy, it makes an ideal main course option for the most special of occasions. And, of course, it doesn’t call for any intricate procedures.
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 175 degree Celsius.
2. Take a small sized roasting pan and fill it with chicken broth. Keep aside.
3. Loose skin of the chicken from the thighs and breasts.
4. Arrange butter pieces beneath the skin, spacing out evenly between two pieces.
5. Arrange the chicken in the roasting pan.
6. Pour the orange juice all over the chicken and stuff the cavity with the orange halves.
7. Using a twine, tie the chicken legs.
8. Sprinkle pepper generously and salt to taste. Rub in minced garlic.
9. Sprinkle melted butter over the chicken and arrange herbs over and around legs and breasts.
10. Using an aluminum foil, cover the roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes.
11. Remove the aluminum foil.
12. Using a basting brush, baste the chicken with the juices flown into the pan.
13. Cook for 60 to 90 minutes or until the chicken loses it pink color and the meat thermometer inserted in the thigh reads 75 degree Celsius. Keep basting every 15 minutes.
14. Take out and allow to rest.
15. Slice and serve.
8. Orange Chicken Noodle Soup:
I love noodle soup and so does my family. This is a variation of the classic noodle soup I make.
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Mix orange juice with the broth in a stockpot and allow to come to a low boil.
2. Whisk in sesame oil, ginger, and soy sauce.
3. Lower the flame to the minimum.
4. Meanwhile, toss cooked noodles with vegetable oil. Divide into four equal portions.
5. Add broth mixture to 4 soup bowls.
6. Mix in the noodles.
7. Top with snow peas, carrots, chicken, green onions, and cilantro.
8. Adjust seasoning and whisk in hot pepper sauce.
9. Serve hot along with toasted bread slices.
9. Orange Chicken Rice Bake:
Yet another tasty orange chicken recipe, it is palate pleasing as well as crowd pleasing. A showstopper recipe, you can prepare it easily. Use readymade cream of chicken soup and orange juice to cut down the time you spend in the kitchen.
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven at 200 degree Celsius.
2. Keep aside 2 tbsp orange juice.
3. In a 2 quart shallow baking dish, mix juice with soup, rice, milk, garlic, pepper, and salt.
4. Spread the vegetables evenly atop the mixture.
5. Arrange chicken atop veggies and sprinkle parsley.
6. Cover and bake for 50 minutes until the chicken is cooked well and rice turns tender.
7. Discard the cover, baste the chicken with the leftover juice, and let it broil for about 3 minutes.
8. Take out the chicken, stir the rice, and serve.
10. Crispy Orange Chicken Wings:
This appetizer adds a special touch even to the simplest of meals. The blend of orange marmalade with hoisin sauces and other spices gives the sauce an unforgettable rich taste and flavor.
Ingredients:
For The Chicken:
For The Sauce:
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius.
2. Rinse the drums and wings thoroughly and pat them dry.
3. Arrange in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle oil, salt, and pepper and toss well.
4. Arrange the wings, leaving enough space in between, on the baking rack.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake for 30 more minutes or until completely cooked.
6. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and keep aside.
7. In a small saucepan, mix sesame oil and olive oil. Heat on low to medium flame.
8. Whisk in ginger and garlic and cook until both turn golden brown.
9. Whisk in orange marmalade, red pepper flakes, and hoisin sauce.
10. Stirring intermittently, cook the sauce for about 5 minutes.
11. Pour the hot sauce atop the wings arranged in the mixing bowl and toss gently and carefully, but strong enough to coat the wings.
12. Serve hot with mayonnaise.
It is time to step out of your comfort zone and try something new! Each of these recipes is sure to blow you away!
