Thanks to the baby on the way, I had the craving for Orange Chicken from a chinese restaurant. Unfortunately, we have been eating out too much so I had to go and find a way to make it. Well I found it on allrecipes.com and it actually tasted like the orange chicken you get from Fortune Chinese (a cheap chinese restaurant a few blocks away) so I was in heaven. The only difference I made was in the vinegar...I didn't have rice vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar instead...tasted just fine to me. Even Aiden ate it, it was gone quicker than I could put it on his tray! I give this recipe a 5!
INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
DIRECTIONS
Pour into saucepan 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce; and set over medium-high heat. Stir in orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and chopped onion. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and let cool 10 to 15 minutes.
Place chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve remaining sauce. Seal bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and peppers.
Add marinated chicken pieces, and shake to coat.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken in skillet, and brown on both sides. Remove to paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water, and stir into sauce. Reduce heat to medium low; stir in chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
