This is the BEST Orange Chicken Recipe on the internet!
If you’re a fan of the famous Panda Express Orange Chicken, then this homemade version is going to bring a smile to your face.
Juicy chicken thighs are battered in a quick cornstarch mixture and lightly friend until crisp, then tossed in a sweet and delicious orange sauce.
How To Make Best Orange Chicken Recipe:
- Start by marinating cut up chicken thighs in a mixture of cornstarch, egg, soy sauce and sesame oil.
- You can fry the chicken pieces in a heavy bottomed skillet or quickly in a deep fryer set at 375 degrees F.
- While the chicken is cooking you can quickly make the delicious orange chicken sauce.
Panda Express Orange Chicken Sauce Recipe:
You’ll be blown away at how delicious this copycat Panda Express Orange Chicken Sauce is! The sauce starts with fresh ginger and garlic, and uses fresh orange zest and orange juice. You can give it an extra hint of spice by adding a pinch of red pepper flakes, but I usually leave this out as it can be too spicy for my kids.
The sauce calls for dry sherry, but if you’re not a fan of using that, you can also substitute it for more chicken broth. The sauce is sweet and slightly spicy with a perfect balance of orange. It’s not a gritty sauce, but rather smooth in texture, and when you toss the chicken in it, it sticks and gives the chicken a gorgeous shine.
I won’t tell you how many times I went back to Panda Express to make sure I was getting all the right components of their sauce.
It was all in the name of research I tell you!
I did pull out my deep fryer for the chicken. Mostly because it’s just easier and less messy. If you don’t have a deep fryer, you can fry up the chicken in skillet or wok.
The crispy coated chicken and sweet, sticky sauce make this one AMAZING dinner! My kids were literally licking their plates clean.
What To Serve with Orange Chicken?
Orange Chicken is fantastic over a bed of hot rice, but here are some simple recipes that can make it a complete meal!
You’re going to love this super simple Orange Chicken Recipe!
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Orange Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- Canola Oil for frying
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
For the Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh orange zest
- 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp water
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar, or dry sherry
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 1 1/2 tsp minced ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
For the Garnish:
- sliced green onions
- orange slices
Instructions
- Pour 1 to 2 inches of canola oil in a small deep fryer or heavy bottomed pot and heat to 375 degrees F.*
- In a large bowl combine the sesame oil, egg, 3 tbsp soy sauce and 1/3 cup corn starch until a thin batter forms. Toss in the chicken pieces and let sit for a few minutes while the oil heats up. Fry the chicken in batches and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.
For the Sauce:
- Combine the orange zest, orange juice, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp water, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar (or dry sherry), 1/3 cup chicken broth and 2 tbsp corn starch in a bowl and set aside.
- Once chicken is finished cooking, heat 1 tsp canola oil in a large wok or skillet over medium high heat. Toss in the ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes (if using) and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the sauce and cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Once thickened (about 3 to 4 minutes) add the chicken to the wok and stir to coat with sauce. Garnish with sliced green onions and orange slices and serve over hot steamed rice if desired. Enjoy!
Spicy Chicken Burrito Bowls
sam ash
This is not such a good recipe.
Too much rice vinegar.
No one could it.
Shawn
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it. I would try the dry sherry instead of the rice vinegar if you’re not a fan of rice vinegar. Hope that helps!
Robin
I love the sauce but my chicken was a bit dry. Not sure what happened. I definitely will make this again.
Shawn
Did you over cook your chicken by chance? You just need it to be cooked to at least 165 degrees and golden brown.
Mr Didier Malo
It was a hit in our family. Did not use red pepper flakes as my boys are not ready for it but I can see it working even better with it. Thank you for sharing. Regarding the calories, am I right to assume that it is 310 kcal per serving?
Shawn
I’m glad you all enjoyed the recipe! And yes, it’s 310 calories per serving.
Gina M
This recipe was delicious! My family enjoyed it. I didn’t have chicken thighs, I used boneless chicken breast. It was not dry it was moist and juicy. I will definitely make again. I marked the recipe as excellent and placed it in my recipe book.
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Gina! Thank you for your comment!
Rosita Danila
This looks delicious
Shawn
Hope you enjoy it Rosita!
Araceli
I made this today and loved the flavor of it I will be making it tomorrow again.
Mitan
I made this easy recipe. Came out very good!
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed it Mitan!
Beverly K Collins
Thank you for this delicious recipe. It is the best of many I have tried and I was able to tweak it to our family tastes. The main tweak I made was to eliminate the orange juice and use only the orange zest. I also increased the corn starch 1/3 and used a little more ginger and sugar. We do like the pinch of red pepper flakes. Perfect!
Jessica Richards
Can you use an air fryer to make this?
Shawn
The batter for the chicken is a little thin and might not be ideal for the air fryer. But you could certainly give it a shot!
Vmanchaalaa
What type of wok are you using? Can you provide the link please?
Shawn
I purchased one from IKEA, but here is a link to a similar one on Amazon – https://amzn.to/2XviqNA
Debbie
My 12 year old found this and wanted to make it. (She really hasn’t cooked much) She made some mistakes along the way but it still turned out awesome and it was a big hit with our family of 8.
Debbie
PS, i love the 1x,2x,3x thing on the recipe. We learned we need to do it 2x next time!
Shawn
That’s awesome! I love letting the kids get in the kitchen and getting them cooking! It’s the best way to teach them!
Christina
I just made this and it’s amazing!!! I’m trying to lay off sugar and gluten so I substituted it with swerve and used coconut oil instead of canola and tamari for soy sauce… I’m so happy to have orange chicken back in my life! Thank you!!!
Carol
Can you use boneless chicken breast instead of thighs.
Laurie
Can you make this without the red wine vinegar or dry sherry?
Shawn
You could, but it will change the flavor of the dish. Substitute chicken broth in their place.
Beverly K Collins
I prefer breast instead of thighs in this recipe.
Cheryl Beard
Is thete anyway you could make a lemon or pineapple chicken recipe? Or would I just swap out the lemon & orange? I love both!
Shawn
I’m sure you could swap out the orange for lemon, I’m not quite sure about the pineapple. I’d have to test that recipe first.
Faithe
We loved this orange chicken! Absolutely scrumptious! The only problem I had was that my chicken came out looking very different than your pictures. It was very dark in color (not pretty orange). Not burnt or anything, just a lot darker. And the breading wasn’t as thick as it is from Chinese takeout, or even as thick as yours appears. I wish I could attach a picture. Any suggestions?
Shawn
I’m glad you enjoyed the chicken! The only thing I could think for your chicken being darker is that maybe your sesame oil was dark sesame oil? I’m not sure if that would really make that much of a difference though. Also, the breading on this chicken isn’t very thick. If you want it thicker you would probably have to double batter the chicken. Maybe roll them in flour and then coat again with more cornstarch slurry.
Katie
This is the perfect consistency! I’ve now made it 3 times and am addicted! Thanks for sharing!
Sharice
Just made this last night and it was awesome! Would probably add more orange zest next time, and would probably double the sauce. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Jo
This was a great alternative to going out for orange chicken! I have tried many different home made versions and this one is the BEST by far! Thank you for your research!
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed it Jo! 🙂 We love it here too!
Psych Nairo
Yum Yum Yum! Perfection indeed. Thanks for the recipe.
Monica
Can i substitute rice wine vinegar for cider vinegar?
Karly
And cue the gigantic smiles from my entire family. This chicken is a surefire hit at my house- I can’t wait to try it out!
Shelby Allison
I just made this tonight for the hubs and I and we both loved it. He actually even said it was the best orange chicken he’s ever had!
Lovoni Walker
Pretty website. Love the name & the concept of your cookbook.
Shawn
Thank you so much Lovoni! 🙂
Malinda @Countryside Cravings
This looks phenomenal!! My husband and I love lemon chicken so I can’t wait to try this one out!!!
Shawn
Thanks Malinda! You’ll love this orange chicken, it’s so addictive! 🙂
Adina
It definitely looks perfect, I love that glaze. I have never had orange chicken, you make me curious!
Shawn
Oh my gosh, you need to make this. It’s life changing!