Restaurant Meals at Home: Orange Chicken

Trimming your restaurant spending doesn’t mean you need to miss out on your favorite food trends! Conjure up some of your favorites right at home. An added bonus; you won’t need to worry about gas or parking, the commute is as close as your kitchen!

Serves 4

Serve over rice, add some chopsticks and store-bought fortune cookies for a "takeout” experience. As with all stir fries, the secret is to prep and assemble all your ingredients ahead of time, it comes together very quickly. While it may look like a long list of ingredients, you probably have most of them in your panty already.

Orange sauce Ingredients

Zest of one orange, reserve a bit for garnish
Juice from 1 large orange, about ½ cup
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon corn starch

Instructions

In a bowl combine orange zest, juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, and cornstarch, set aside.

Chicken Ingredients

2 pounds boneless chicken cut into bite size pieces. (Breast meat, or skinless thighs all work)
1 egg
½ cup cornstarch
2 to 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
¼ tsp red chili flakes
½ cup chopped green onions, reserve a few for garnish
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Whisk egg in a small bowl and place cornstarch in a shallow dish, such as a pie plate. Dip chicken in beaten egg then dredge in cornstarch, shaking off excess. Place on a plate.
In a large fry pan, non-stick works best, heat 2 tablespoons oil to sizzling over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches so not to crowd pan. Stir fry until browned and chicken is cooked through. Place on a paper towel lined plate. Continue cooking until all the chicken is cooked. Add additional oil if needed. Wipe out pan with a paper towel.
Over medium heat, add scant amount of oil to pan, add ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and green onions stir fry for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Add orange sauce mixture, bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Add chicken, stirring to coat. Garnish with sesame seeds, green onions and orange zest. Serve immediately.