Orange Chicken Better Than Takeout

Published Apr 05, 2019 Updated Sep 03, 2024

What Is Orange Chicken

This chicken is the poster child of American-Chinese cuisine. If you walk into any Panda Express or Chinese takeout restaurant, you’re sure to find it on the menu. While sometimes called Orange Peel Chicken, it is the same thing. However, General Tso’s Chicken is not the same. While both are deep fried, General Tso’s chicken is usually a lot spicier. Furthermore, this specific chicken is made with an orange peel.

How Does It Taste

This chicken recipe is extremely delicious and flavorful. Chicken breast is used to make crispy deep-fried chicken coated in a batter, with a sweet, tangy and savory orange sauce. It’s citrusy because of the orange juice and zest in the recipe. It’s also mildly spicy because of the chili sauce.

The Best Orange Sauce

The key to the best orange chicken lies in, not surprisingly, the orange sauce. The ingredients are easy to find. It calls for orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, sugar, apple cider vinegar and chili sauce. Therefore, it’s sweet, sour and salty with a little bit of heat. You can make a big batch of the sauce and keep it in the refrigerator.

How Do You Prepare The Chicken

First, you prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients in the sauce. For the chicken, you want to deep fry using my special batter recipe. Finally, using a wok or skillet, cook the orange sauce mixture until it thickens, then add in the deep-fried chicken. Stir to combine well and dinner is done!

What To Serve With Orange Chicken

Serve this dish with other Chinese classics such as hot and sour soup. For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.