🍊 Orange chicken

Name: Orange chicken
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: United States · California
Ingredients: 600 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into pieces; 60 g cornstarch plus 1 tsp for the sauce; Zest of 2 oranges; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 3 tbsp sugar; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 100 ml water; Vegetable oil for frying, salt

Origin: United States · California

650kcal

per serving · 250 g

260kcal

per 100 g

35 gProtein14 g / 100 g

28 gFat11 g / 100 g

62 gCarbs25 g / 100 g

Orange chicken is an American-Chinese dish of bite-sized pieces of chicken, coated in cornstarch and fried until crisp, then tossed in a sticky, sweet and tangy orange glaze with garlic and soy sauce. The glaze clings to the crunchy coating, balancing sugar with citrus zest. It is usually served with steamed rice.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken

Contains glutenbecause of: soy sauce

Not keto25 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Soy

What it is made of

chickenorange zestsoy saucesugargarliccornstarch

Recipe

4 servings40 min

Ingredients

600 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
60 g cornstarch plus 1 tsp for the sauce
Zest of 2 oranges
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
100 ml water
Vegetable oil for frying, salt

Method

Season the chicken with salt and toss it in the cornstarch.
Fry in hot oil at about 175 °C for 5–6 minutes until crisp and cooked through, then drain.
In a pan heat 1 tsp oil, fry the garlic and orange zest for 30 seconds.
Add the soy sauce, sugar and water, bring to a simmer and thicken with 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with a little water.
Toss the chicken in the glaze and serve straight away.

How to make it lighter

Air-fry or bake the coated chicken at 200 °C instead of deep-frying.
Halve the sugar and add more orange zest for flavour.
Serve with plenty of steamed vegetables and a smaller portion of rice.

History

Orange chicken is an American-Chinese creation, usually credited to a chef at a Chinese fast-food chain in California in the late 1980s. It is loosely inspired by Chinese dishes flavoured with dried citrus peel and is now one of the best-known dishes of American-Chinese takeaway food.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Orange chicken and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →