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Happy New Year’s, everyone!
I hope that your 2014 is off to a terrific start. And hopefully, a delicious and healthy start!
So for all of you new years resolution folks who are out there scanning the world wide webosphere looking for lighter recipes after a holiday season full of sweets, you’ve come to the right place. Because I am dedicating theentire month of January this year to sharing healthy recipes with you. And I am stoked to kick things off with a lightened-up Chinese food classic — Skinny Orange Chicken.
This version packs all of the amazing sweet and savory orange flavor of the restaurant-style version, but with only a fraction of the calories and fat. And it is naturally sweetened with honey. And it can be served over rice or (my favorite) quinoa. And it can be made in just 20 minutes from start to finish.
Interested? You should be. :)
The main key to lightening up this restaurant classic is that we simply saute the chicken instead of fry it. The chicken is sauteed until golden and drenched in an orange chicken sauce anyway, so I guarantee you won’t even miss the frying! Plus, it saves us lots of unnecessary fat and calories in an already delicious dish.
And as I said, this skinny orange chicken recipe can literally be made in about 20 minutes. So here’s what you need to make it happen.
First, begin by cutting your chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Mine were roughly 1-inch cubed. Then season them with lots of salt and pepper for extra flavor.
Next, we make the rockstar of this recipe — the orange chickensauce. This sauce really could not be simpler. Simply whisk all of the ingredients together along with some cornstarch (for thickening), and you’re ready to go.
Next, saute the chicken in some olive oil until it is nearly cooked through. Be sure to let it rest in the pan a bit while cooking so that the sides can get nice and browned.
Then pour in the sauce, which should come to a boil within a minute or so. Let it boil for about 1-2 minutes, or until it’s nice and thickened.
Then top the chicken with some extra orange zest, green onions and toasted sesame seeds, and you’re good to go!
If you want to go the traditional route, you can serve this orange chicken recipe over rice. But I’m a big fan of eating stir-fry recipes with quinoa. So I whipped up a quick batch for this recipe, made (as always) with chicken broth for extra flavor.
I mean, really, just look at that gorgeous dish!
So much great flavor, and so little unnecessary fat and calories from frying the chicken. I’m pretty positive that even your friends or family members who usually prefer the fried version will go “poco loco” over this dish. :)
Stay tuned for more healthy recipes to come this month on Gimme Some Oven. And cheers to a great 2014 ahead!
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Skinny Orange Chicken
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star4.9 from 54 reviews
This homemade orange chicken recipe comes together in just 20 minutes, and is a crazy delicious! (And healthier than the restaurant version!)
Ingredients
Scale
Orange Chicken Ingredients:
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
orange chicken sauce (ingredients below)
toppings: thinly-sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, orange zest
Orange Chicken Sauce Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. white pepper
zest of one orange
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
(Optional: Quinoa Ingredients)
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
To Make The Orange Chicken:
Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute for about 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and nearly cooked through.
Pour in the orange chicken sauce, and stir to combine. Let the sauce come to a boil, then boil for an additional minute or two until thickened. Remove from heat and serve immediately over quinoa or rice. Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds and additional orange zest.
To Make The Orange Chicken Sauce:
Whisk all ingredients together until combined. If you would like the sauce to be even sweeter, add an extra 2-4 tablespoons of honey.
To Make The Quinoa:
You can see my step-by-step photo tutorial for how to cook quinoa here http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/how-to-cook-quinoa-recipe/.
Sauce is like gravy in that if it's not thickening as much as you want after you've added the cornstarch, turn the heat up a little and continue to cook. Keep an eye on it though, as it can thicken quickly.
In most countries in the western hemisphere, the names "orange chicken", "orange peel chicken", "orange-flavored chicken", and "tangerine chicken" are typically used for this particular dish. This dish may have originally come from the "tangerine chicken" dish from Hunan, China.
Orange Chicken is crispy and light due to its thin glaze.Meanwhile, Sweet and Sour Chicken is crispy with a thicker and more indulgent sauce. Their different textures make them both a delicious choice when you are craving Chinese food.
The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.
Add about 1 tablespoon of cornflour per cup of sauce but don't dump it straight in or it will clump. Instead, make a mixture with equal parts cornflour and cold water and whisk this into your sauce.
General Tso's chicken is typically spicier and has a more complex flavor profile, with a sauce that includes soy sauce, vinegar, and chili peppers. Orange chicken, on the other hand, has a sweeter and tangier sauce made with orange juice and zest.
The most famous dish at Panda Express is the Orange Chicken. Inspired by flavors of the Hunan Province in China, Chef Andy Kho developed it in 1987, and it has been a consistent part of the menu ever since. Distinguished with its orange-flavored chili sauce, it has spawned several 'copycat' recipes.
Orange chicken is made with, well, oranges! A combination of orange juice and zest, to be exact. It's certainly stickier and sweeter than Kung Pao chicken! The meat in orange chicken usually has a crust.
Trader Joe's Orange Chicken comes pre-cooked, which makes it even more convenient for cooking in an air fryer. You simply need to follow the cooking instructions provided in the simple recipe to reheat and achieve crispy perfection.
Deep frying: preheat fryer to 350°F and thaw unopened sauce pouch in a bowl of hot water.Deep fry chicken for 5-7 minutes. Let cool, then drizzle sauce over chicken or use for dipping.
The reason Costco's chicken is so juicy is because of a salt solution pumped inside, which is basically like super-brining. That makes the meat moist and evenly seasoned every time, delivering a consistent—though there has been some Reddit uproar about weird-tasting chicken lately in some states—tasting chicken.
To start, the difference between orange chicken and General Tso's chicken appears after the battering and frying: It's all in the sauce. Both dishes are American standbys not seen in China.
While General Chicken offers a sweet and sour taste with just a hint of spice, Kung Pao Chicken has a distinctively spicy flavor that comes from the dried chilies added to it.
One distinct characteristic of orange chicken is that it is sweet, and that comes from the addition of brown sugar (and honey), which gives the sauce it's sticky, caramelized glaze. The addition of brown sugar in many Asian recipes helps to balance out sour flavors and spices added to the dish.
To thicken the sauce, pour it into a small saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water to make a cornstarch slurry. Once the sauce starts to bubble in the pan on the stovetop, add the cornstarch slurry and stir to combine.
Using the oven is a good way to reheat orange chicken and keep it crispy. Place your chicken in an ovenproof dish and set your oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake until the chicken is heated through, usually 15–20 minutes.
Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency. Test with a spoon.
Mix 2 tablespoons (16 g) of flour with 1/4 cup (60 mL) of cold water, then add to your sauce and stir over medium heat until it thickens. Alternatively, create a sauce-thickening roux by whisking 1 tbsp (15 g) of butter and 1 tbsp (9 g) of salt together, then adding the mixture to your sauce.
Hobby: Flower arranging, Yo-yoing, Tai chi, Rowing, Macrame, Urban exploration, Knife making
Introduction: My name is Madonna Wisozk, I am a attractive, healthy, thoughtful, faithful, open, vivacious, zany person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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