This Orange Chicken Recipe is even better than takeout! Chicken is breaded, fried, and coated with the most amazing sweet and spicy orange sauce. It is so quick easy to make, you’ll never go back to takeout!
Chinese takeout is full of memories, hanging out at Panda Express and eating way too much food. It tasted so good, we would not stop until every last bite was gone. Unfortunately, we’ve found that our favorite childhood takeout just hasn’t kept up with our ever evolving tastes into adulthood. While there is so much nostalgia there, we can no longer eat it like we used to. This recipe takes an old favorite and turns it into a delicious meal that is both kid and adult approved. Made-from-scratch always tastes better, and we know you’ll agree.
Takeout Orange Chicken is not an authentic Chinese recipe, but rather a typical American version of Chinese-American takeout restaurants. The Stay At Home Chef uses ingredients that are easily accessible for most people in the United States and Canada so that anyone can easily celebrate world cuisines even if their opportunities for travel or access to regional ingredients are limited.
What is Takeout Orange Chicken?
Orange chicken is small, bite-sized pieces of chicken that have been breaded, fried, and coated in a tangy, orange sauce. The sauce has an intense sweet and salty orange flavor, with just a little bit of heat.
General Tso vs. Orange Chicken:
General Tso Chicken and Orange Chicken are very similar. Both involve chicken that is breaded and fried and coated in a sweet sauce. However, General Tso Chicken is chili based, while Orange chicken is orange based.
Frying Oil:
There are lots of different oils that work great for frying. The most economical choices tend to be vegetable oil and canola oil. Either will work in this recipe.
Is Orange Chicken a traditional Chinese recipe?
Orange Chicken is not a traditional dish found in China. It is a popular dish served at Chinese restaurants in North America, but it is most definitely not an authentic or traditional dish. It is said to have been invented by the popular restaurant chain Panda Express which serves up pseudo-Chinese food for an American palate and is in no way Authentic Chinese cuisine.
Chicken Options:
You can use either boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs, depending on whether you want white meat or dark meat. Chicken thighs will have a bit more gristle than breasts, but will be more moist.
Storage and Reheating instructions:
Takeout orange chicken is best eaten fresh. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in an oven-safe baking dish, in an oven preheated to 350 degrees until warmed through.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other great Chinese takeout recipes:
Flavour-10/10
Crispy 10/10
Coating was quite watery -was it supposed to be thicker?
Sauce. -delicious but needed second Tbsp cornstarch to thicken
Problem I had was sticking to my deep fryer basket.I had adequate oil and temp 350.But so tastey I must try again -thanks for the super easy recipe
Has anyone tired this with pork ? My husband will not eat chicken in any form.
I cooked orange chicken with rice and broccoli and it was delicious!
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
WOW! Best orange chicken I have ever had. And I made it! You never know what the orange chicken will be like when you order from any restaurant. I added white sesame at the end and a zest of orange . It was amazing!
I’ve made this several times, and my family loves it. This is an awesome recipe; MUCH better than what you get in restaurants.
Just made this and paired it with some leftover lemon rice and stamed broccoli. Delicious!! I’ll be making this one again!! Thanks, Miss Rachel!
I made the orange chicken and it was even better then at the restaurant I go to! It came out very orangie and it’s so easy to make . I used a tangerine because I had no oranges and as garnish I put slices of tangerine and sauce over them it was a big hit.
So easy and yet so yummy! Next time I’ll use the 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes. I always think I like spicy way more than I actually do. Thank you for the informative recipe. We’ll be making this again.
Loved it!!
This is easy and delicious!