Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (2024)

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by Todd + Diane

Our orange chicken recipe is incredibly delicious, using fresh orange juice for maximum flavor and freshness. We’re sharing this recipe againand it’s dedicated to our orange tree that died. We planted a new one and hoping it will bring us as much delicious joy as theprevious one.

Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (1)Fresh Orange Chicken Recipe

Over 15 years ago we planted a little Washington naval orange tree. We always hope for the best for our new fruit trees and wanting them to adjust to our climate and hopefully, grow to be healthy and lush. Our philosophy is growing healthy trees comes first and then the fruit will come later. We don’t always expect a bumper crop in the first two or three years because it takes times for trees to get used to their new home, weather and soil. But our little naval was a trooper from the very beginning and started to give fruit that was so super sweet, it was amazing. Yeah, we’re proud parents, can’t you tell?

Watch the video making the fresh and delicious Orange Chicken:

Fast forward 15 years later and this orange tree is as happy as ever and producing way more oranges than we can juice. So we’ve been coming up with different ways to cook with oranges and one absolute favorite way is to make orange chicken! We call it fresh orange chicken because we use fresh orange juice and the flavor makes all the difference when you squeeze fresh juice for this recipe. For even more flavor, we zest the oranges because we can’t let any of it go to waste. Sure you can use orange juice from concentrate, but if you can get your hands on a few fresh oranges, you’ll be able to taste the difference.

If you love orange chicken then you’ll love this homemade fresh orange version. It’s way better than take out and honestly, it’s so much easier to make this than to drive to an Asian restaurant for take-out. Also, there’s so many different orange varieties out there, including the gorgeous cara cara that we’ve been eyeing. If only we had more backyard space!

We’re huge fans of juicing oranges for fresh morning juice and on those rare times we don’t have any in the garden, we’ll buy 10 pound bags from the farmers market. Over the years we’ve used many juicers and for large quantity juicing, our favorite is this Krups Electric Juicer. We’ve gone through hundreds of pounds with ours and love it as much as any commercial juicer I used when I was in the restaurant world. And try the sauce on this healthy oven fried chicken recipe!

Enjoy,

diane and todd

More great chicken recipes:

This recipe was originally published in 2017 and re-published in 2019 with updated photos.

Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (7)

Orange Glazed Chicken

Keep cooking the glaze down until it becomes super thick, like in the photo. But the sauce tastes so great at almost any consistency, so you can decide how long you want to cook the sauce. The longer you cook, the thicker the sauce becomes.

4.65 from 17 votes

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound (454 g) chicken breast , cut into bite sized pieces
  • Kosher salt , to taste
  • Fresh ground black pepper , to taste
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) grape seed oil (or any high flash point oil-canola oil, peanut oil, etc...)

Orange Glaze Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) fresh orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons (45 g) brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) finely grated orange zest

For Serving:

  • Chopped cilantro or parsley, for garnish
  • Serve with rice , couscous or quinoa

Instructions

  • Make the orange glaze: Add orange juice, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally cook until the mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup and it is sticky and coats the back of a spoon, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in the orange zest. While the glaze reduces, cook the chicken in another pan.

  • In another pan, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken until cooked through and crispy on edges, about 3-5 minutes depending on how big your chicken pieces are.

  • When both the chicken and glaze are done, combine them together in one of the pans and cook for another 2-3 minutes, to thicken the glaze slightly more and coat the chicken well with the orange glaze.

  • Garnish with cilantro or parsley and serve over warm rice, couscous or quinoa.

Video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 275kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 637mg, Potassium: 636mg, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 235IU, Vitamin C: 52mg, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 0.9mg

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian

Calories: 275

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24 comments on “Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken”

  1. Lizzy February 24, 2023 @ 10:29 pm Reply

    I’m totally in love with the orange glaze sauce. Really awesome recipe that’s done with orange juice. Turned out so great.Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (11)

  2. Steve, Lebanon, NH, USA February 14, 2021 @ 3:27 pm Reply

    Thank you for sharing! Found this recipe with a web search this morning, picked it at random, decided to go for it because of the ease of preparation. Will definitely be making this again!Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (12)

  3. Rosanna May 26, 2020 @ 9:34 pm Reply

    My husband is a big fan of chicken. I cook chicken dishes every week so I need many different chicken recipe ideas. I had never mixed chicken with orange before. Yesterday, I found this recipe and decided to make it. I just wanna say: “Wowww!”. The taste was really really incredible. Thanks for the recipe!Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (13)

  4. Ghulam Mohyudin April 22, 2020 @ 3:57 am Reply

    Good to know that fresh orange juice works too! I learn so much from you! Keep it up, great post.Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (14)

  5. Tye June 27, 2019 @ 12:46 pm Reply

    This recipe is awesome. Thanks for providing great recipes always!Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (15)

  6. Anton June 27, 2019 @ 12:45 pm Reply

    This orange glaze is packed with so much flavor! It’s so good!Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (16)

  7. linda Shapiro May 11, 2019 @ 9:03 am Reply

    Pin this and will make this week. thanks so much- LOOKS DELICIOUS.Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (17)

  8. Michelle April 22, 2019 @ 5:41 pm Reply

    Holy DELICIOUS! Only three ingredients in the sauce? I grilled red onion and pepper and added that in with the chicken, then poured the sauce over. I’ve already shared the recipe with three friends. Definitely going to be a go-to mealOrange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (18)

    • April 23, 2019 @ 4:46 pm Reply

      Thanks so much for enjoying it! It’s definitely an amazing favorite!

Leave a Reply

Orange Chicken Recipe Fresh Orange Glazed Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the orange sauce made of in orange chicken? ›

How to make the orange chicken sauce. The orange sauce is made from a mixture of the orange juice and zest, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and rice vinegar. This is bubbled up in the wok until slightly thickened. The chicken is then added back in, and tossed in the sauce until fully coated.

What is the difference between orange chicken and tangerine chicken? ›

Tangerine is used in traditional Chinese medicine as well as cooking. Tangerine chicken tastes fresh and spicy, but orange chicken tastes sweet and sour. Orange chicken is crispy cooked in a sweet and little spicy orange sauce. The sweetness of orange chicken was introduced to cater to American tastes.

Why is my orange chicken soggy? ›

Whether Orange Chicken is baked or fried, it can get soggy if left to sit for too long once combined. To prevent soggy chicken, serve immediately or store the chicken and sauce separately, then combine when reheating.

What is orange chicken from a Chinese restaurant? ›

What Is Orange Chicken? Orange chicken is one of many iterations of Chinese takeout dishes that involve fried chicken pieces tossed with sauce. In this case, the sauce is a mix of soy sauce, water, and orange juice, plus some cornstarch thickener to make the sauce just thick enough to coat the chicken.

What is Chinese orange chicken made of? ›

This Chinese Orange Chicken is made with boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces, dredged, and then fried until golden and crispy. The orange sauce is divine! It is a sweet orange sauce made with orange juice, vinegar, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, red chili flakes, and orange zest.

How do you thicken orange chicken sauce? ›

To thicken the sauce, pour it into a small saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water to make a cornstarch slurry. Once the sauce starts to bubble in the pan on the stovetop, add the cornstarch slurry and stir to combine.

What is the original orange chicken? ›

The original “Orange Chicken” had no breading around each piece of chicken and the sauce was made of leftover orange or lemon peels cooked with soy sauce, chilis and garlic. The sauce had a citrus element, but it wasn't as pronounced or sweet like you would think of today.

Is orange chicken Chinese or American? ›

While the orange chicken is one of the most famous Chinese dishes in America, it is a purely American invention, with no authentic Chinese resturants or restaurants in China serving this dish.

Why does orange chicken taste so good? ›

One distinct characteristic of orange chicken is that it is sweet, and that comes from the addition of brown sugar (and honey), which gives the sauce it's sticky, caramelized glaze. The addition of brown sugar in many Asian recipes helps to balance out sour flavors and spices added to the dish.

How do you keep chicken super moist? ›

Cover the chicken breast in foil to hold in moisture and let it rest for at least five minutes. The resting time allows the juices to distribute themselves throughout the meat, making it easier to slice later. What you get is perfectly cooked cuts with no dry pieces in sight.

How do you thicken orange chicken sauce without cornstarch? ›

Arrowroot powder: Arrowroot powder is a fine, gluten-free powder you can use in place of cornstarch as a thickening agent because it has a similar thickening power. Substitute arrowroot powder one-to-one for cornstarch.

Is orange chicken Chinese or Japanese? ›

Yes, but it is not an authentic Chinese dish, Orange Chicken is an Americanized Chinese dish. Orange Chicken was inspired from a Cantonese dish that features deep fried chicken with sauce.

What to pair with orange chicken? ›

To recap, the best side dishes for orange chicken are;
  1. White Rice.
  2. Stir-Fry Veggies.
  3. Chicken noodles.
  4. Potato salad.
  5. French Fries.
  6. Instant pot Hot and Sour soup.
  7. Green Salad.
  8. Instant pot macaroni salad.
Sep 6, 2023

What is an interesting fact about orange chicken? ›

While the dish is very popular in the United States, it is most often found as a variation of General Tso's chicken in North America rather than the dish found in mainland China. Chef Andy Kao claims to have developed the original Chinese-American orange chicken recipe at a Panda Express in Hawaii in 1987.

What is orange chicken made of panda? ›

Ingredients: dark meat chicken, water, sugar, distilled vinegar, modified food starch, corn starch, potato starch, contains less than 2% of: wheat, orange extract, caramel color, salt, garlic, phosphoric acid, rice wine, sesame oil. *The dish uses a proprietary batter and sauce.

What is orange sauce made of? ›

What is orange sauce made of? Homemade orange sauce is heavenly! This sweet sauce is made of orange juice, brown sugar, pure maple syrup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, minced garlic, and minced ginger.

What is the orange Chinese sauce called? ›

Duck sauce (or orange sauce) is a condiment with a sweet and sour flavor and a translucent orange appearance similar to a thin jelly. Offered at American Chinese restaurants, it is used as a dip for deep-fried dishes such as wonton strips, spring rolls, egg rolls, duck, chicken, fish, or with rice or noodles.

Why does orange chicken taste like orange? ›

The original “Orange Chicken” had no breading around each piece of chicken and the sauce was made of leftover orange or lemon peels cooked with soy sauce, chilis and garlic.

Where does orange chicken sauce come from? ›

The most famous dish at Panda Express is the Orange Chicken. Inspired by flavors of the Hunan Province in China, Chef Andy Kho developed it in 1987, and it has been a consistent part of the menu ever since. Distinguished with its orange-flavored chili sauce, it has spawned several 'copycat' recipes.

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