A favorite takeout item, but lightened up. This lightened up orange chicken recipe features tender chunks of chicken breast pan seared and tossed in a sweet and savory orange sauce, made with fresh squeezed orange juice, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and a bit of sugar. Finished with chopped green onions, this lightened up orange chicken is perfect served alongside rice and a vegetable, like broccoli.
Course dinner, lunch, main course
Cuisine asian
Keyword orange chicken
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 25 minutesminutes
Servings 5
Calories 352kcal
Author Steph
Equipment
frying pan
saucepan
Ingredients
Chicken
2lbschicken breast
3egg whites
1/2cupcorn starch
non-stick cooking spray
Orange Sauce
1.5cupsfresh squeezed orange juiceequivalent to about 5-6 oranges
zest of one orange
2tbsplow sodium soy sauce
2tbsprice wine vinegar
1tspgingerfresh or squeeze ginger
1tspsriracha
2clovesgarlicminced
1/4cupsugar
1tbspcorn starch
3tbspwater
2scallionschopped
Instructions
Chop the chicken into bite-sized chunks.
Add the egg whites to one bowl, and the corn starch to another bowl.
Dip the chicken into the egg whites, and then into the corn starch. It is best to work in batches, as the corn starch might become clumpy. Do this step in 2 batches, using 1/4 cup of corn starch each time.
Preheat a frying pan over medium high heat. Add non-stick spray to coat the pan.
Working in batches, cook the chicken over medium high heat, adding more cooking spray when needed.
Cook the chicken chunks until golden brown on the outside, and cooked on the inside (about 5-7 minutes).
The internal temperature should be 165F when fully cooked.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside, and then repeat the process with the second batch.
Zest one orange.
Juice the oranges to yield 1.5 cups of fresh orange juice.
Add the orange juice to the saucepan, with the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, minced garlic, sriracha, orange zest and sugar.
Whisk to combine the ingredients and bring the sauce to a boil.
Reduce to simmer.
Add the cooked chicken back to the frying pan, and then add the sauce to the chicken in the pan.
Put the heat on medium low, and simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes.
Combine the 1 tbsp corn starch with 3 tbsp of water to form a slurry.
Add the slurry to the pan with the chicken and sauce, and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens to your liking.