Go Back

Orange Chicken

One of my favorite sweet & sour chicken recipes. This is an easy dish to prepare, is extremely aromatic and tastes outstanding! The combination of sweet and spicy with that tangy orange flavour will make your taste buds sing. It tastes best served over steamed or fried rice. YUM!
Print Recipe
Servings: 5 people
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for Chicken Marinade
  • 500 gm boneless chicken breast cut in cubes
  • 4 tbsp. cornflour
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic paste
  • 1 tsp. soya sauce
Ingredients for the Orange Sauce
  • 3 tbsp. oil
  • 4 tbsp. chopped spring onions
  • 1 tsp. ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic
  • salt to taste
  • 4 tbsp. sugar preferably brown, but even white will do
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tbsp. orange zest
  • juice from one orange approx. 1/2 cup
  • 1 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp. corn flour mixed with water to form a light paste
  • 1 whole red chilli chopped
  • 1 green chilli chopped
  • 1 tbsp. soya sauce
  • 2 tbsp. dark vinegar
  • spring onion for garnishing the green part
  • sesame seeds for garnishing
  • orange slices for garnishing

Method
 

  1. Refrigerate the chicken marinade mixture for half an hour. Then fry until golden (approx. 3-4 minutes on each side).  Do not over cook otherwise the chicken will become hard.  I normally shallow fry in a non stick pan.
    Next prepare your orange sauce.
    In a cup, mix the sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, orange zest, soya sauce and dark vinegar.  Set aside.
    Heat the oil in a pan or wok, add the ginger and garlice pastes followed by the spring onions and chopped green chili.  Fry for a minute until fragrant, then pour in the orange juice mixture.  let this come to a boil and let it simmer for a couple of minutes so that the sugar dissolves and the color changes slightly.  You can add some orange food color to brighten up the sauce if you like.  Then add the cup of water and a pinch of salt.
    When it boils, lower the heat and add teh corn flour paste while stirrring constantly.  The sauce will instatnly start to thicken.  Once it is of a good thick and sticky consistency, add the fried chicken and the chopped red chili.
    Stir together, making sure the chicken pieces are well coated with the sauce and adjust salt.  Cover and allow to simmer for 3 more minutes on low heat, then turn off the heat. Serve over fried or steamed rice, garnish with sesame seeds, some chopped spring onions and orange slices.
    Enjoy!