To make the sauce, an eclectic mix of orange juice and zest, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and sriracha sauce is simmered together, seasoned with sesame oil, and thickened with a cornstarch slurry to create a syrupy sauce that coats the chicken beautifully.Īll of those ingredients come together to create a tantalizing harmony of sweet, sour, and spicy. The other big part of Orange Chicken is of course, the sauce. Be sure to properly coat and cook the chicken for the best result!

The biggest mistake people make when cooking orange chicken is cooking too much at once and overcrowding the oil, which will reduce the temperature and cause the chicken to cook too slowly, making the breading get soggy and fall off. The two keys to cooking the chicken are to shake off any excess flour after dredging so you have a nice light, even coating and frying the chicken in small batches. Then, the chicken is quickly deep fried to crunchy, juicy perfection. But before dredging the chicken in the flour and cornstarch, you dip it in some beaten egg so the dry mixture will stick. In order to get that crispy exterior that everyone loves about Orange Chicken, the breading is crucial.Ī mix of cornstarch and flour in a 2:1 ratio makes for a coating that is crispy and as light as air. To add some flavor to the chicken, it’s quickly marinated in dried ginger, orange, salt, and pepper. To make the chicken, thighs are best as they don’t overcook and dry out as quickly as breasts. When making orange chicken, there’s two main components: the sauce and the chicken. However, once you bite into the magical, juicy, crispy pieces chicken elegantly coated in a robustly flavorful sweet-sour-spicy sauce, all the dirty dishes in the world won’t make you regret cooking this dynamite recipe. To recreate the famous Orange Chicken you will need quite a bit of ingredients, it’ll take some time to put together, and you will accumulate some dirty dishes in the process. Making Panda Express’ Orange Chicken is not the most straightforward of tasks, it’s not particularly difficult, but it will take some time and effort.

Panda express orange chicken