Sunday, March 31, 2013

Orange Peel Chicken



My in house taste tester and I always order Chinese food from a place here in Vancouver called Golden Great Wall, it is amazing!

We always get the same 3 dishes and Orange Peel Chicken is one of them.
When I saw this recipe for a homemade version I had to try it.


It turned out really great! Takes a little prep, but really not difficult.
The chicken was super crunchy on the outside and tender in the centre.
The sauce is sticky and sweet with a good kick of heat.

We loved it!


What you need,

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp. finely grated orange zest (about 1 orange)
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 large oranges)
1/3 cup white vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
2/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp. dried ginger
2 tbsp. grated yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Sriracha sauce (if you like it hot you can add more)
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
(¼ cup honey, see note!)
1 cup + 2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. Cold water
2 large eggs
Vegetable or canola oil for frying
Chopped green onion and
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Place the chicken pieces in a large zip top bag.

In a medium sauce pan combine the chicken broth, orange zest, orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, granulated sugar, ginger, yellow onion, garlic, Sriracha and pepper.

Whisk mixture to combine. Measure out 2/3 cup into the zip top bag with the chicken. Shake to coat and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl stir 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to make a paste.

Cook the remaining sauce over medium heat until it just starts to boil.
Stir in the cornstarch paste and continue to cook for 1-2 more minutes until thickened. Turn the heat off and put a lid on the pot to keep the sauce warm.

*NOTE
(I tasted the sauce at this point and felt like it needed some sweetness this is when I added the honey. Kitchen Fail I totally didn’t notice the sugar in the original recipe and left it out…Duh! so don’t be like me, use the sugar. I am sure it would be sweet enough, if not add a little honey.)

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees. The oil should be about 2 inches deep.

Drain the excess marinade off the chicken.

In a shallow pie plate, whisk the eggs, in a second pie plate measure out the rest of the cornstarch.
Dip the chicken pieces in the egg then dredge in the cornstarch, be sure the chicken is well coated.

Fry the chicken in batches for 6-8 minutes until it is golden brown and crisp. Be sure not to overcrowd the oil, I did mine in 3 batches.
Once the chicken is cooked remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Place the fried chicken in a large bowl, pour the warm sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.

Sprinkle with the green onion and sesame seeds.

Serve over rice.


This recipe was amazing! I will be making it again for sure.


If I can just figure out how to make the Szechuan Green Beans from Golden Great Wall I won’t ever have to order take out again!

Jen

Recipe from Cooking Classy

1 comment:

  1. Awesome! Mike will be so happy (as am I)! Oh how I miss this dish! Great pics, by the way. I want to eat the page.

    ReplyDelete