Orange Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the orange chicken sauce made of? ›

How to make the orange chicken sauce. The orange sauce is made from a mixture of the orange juice and zest, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and rice vinegar. This is bubbled up in the wok until slightly thickened. The chicken is then added back in, and tossed in the sauce until fully coated.

The original “Orange Chicken” had no breading around each piece of chicken and the sauce was made of leftover orange or lemon peels cooked with soy sauce, chilis and garlic. The sauce had a citrus element, but it wasn't as pronounced or sweet like you would think of today.

Ingredients: dark meat chicken, water, sugar, distilled vinegar, modified food starch, corn starch, potato starch, contains less than 2% of: wheat, orange extract, caramel color, salt, garlic, phosphoric acid, rice wine, sesame oil. *The dish uses a proprietary batter and sauce.

cheng zi ji (traditional Chinese: 橙子雞; simplified Chinese: 橙子鸡; pinyin: chéngzi jī; Jyutping: caang^4-2 zi¹ gai¹; lit. 'orange chicken'), a calque.

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.

A delicious ready made orange sauce to go with duck, game, chicken and pork.

Flavor-wise, the grocery chain's sauce is much less spicy than Panda Express', but it still had a nice, even blend of tangy orange flavor and a sweetness that didn't taste syrupy or artificial. It leaned slightly more to the acidic side, which nicely cut down the sugar and created a wonderfully balanced dish.

What is the difference between orange chicken and General Tso? Orange chicken is crispy fried with a fruity, sweet, and tangy sauce that's caramelized into a glaze. General Tso is stir-fried in a sweet, sour, and spicy umami sauce.

While the orange chicken is one of the most famous Chinese dishes in America, it is a purely American invention, with no authentic Chinese resturants or restaurants in China serving this dish.

Panda Express entrees and sides contain zero grams of trans fat per serving and adds no MSG in their food. Panda Express uses only 100% pure soybean oil in the preparation of recipes.

Why is orange chicken so good? ›

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.

The chicken itself is also different, as orange chicken is made with dark meat chicken ( chicken thighs) and sweet and sour chicken is made with chicken breasts and fried in a batter that yields a puffy and airy crust.

While the orange chicken is one of the most famous Chinese dishes in America, it is a purely American invention, with no authentic Chinese resturants or restaurants in China serving this dish.

General Tso's Chicken is battered and deep fried whereas Hunan Chicken is lightly dusted in cornstarch and stir fried or lightly pan fried. General Tso's Chicken is sweet and mildly spicy, far less spicy than Hunan Chicken, with the zing coming from a generous amount of ginger verses chili peppers.

Duck sauce (or orange sauce) is a condiment with a sweet and sour flavor and a translucent orange appearance similar to a thin jelly. Offered at American Chinese restaurants, it is used as a dip for deep-fried dishes such as wonton strips, spring rolls, egg rolls, duck, chicken, fish, or with rice or noodles.

Basically, the sauce is what distinguishes one flavor from the others, so when making orange chicken, the sauce base is orange juice, with lemon, lemonade, pineapple, pineapple juice, and sweet and sour is tomato sauce or juice and vinegar and sugar or honey.

Orange chicken is a popular item at Chinese restaurants. It consists of small cubes of chicken that are breaded, pan-fried, and coated in an orange sauce. The orange sauce is sweet with a little tang and a hint of spice. It's mainly known for its orange flavor (as you can guess from the name).

The chicken itself is also different, as orange chicken is made with dark meat chicken ( chicken thighs) and sweet and sour chicken is made with chicken breasts and fried in a batter that yields a puffy and airy crust.