Crispy fried chicken tossed in a sweet and savory orange sauce! This quick and easy recipe is great as a main dish for busy weeknight meals for the family. It beats takeout and saves money! My recipe teaches you how to shallow fry or air fry the chicken.
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What is Orange Chicken?
Orange Chicken features crispy chicken tossed in a orange sauce made of fresh orange juice, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger powder! It serves best with white rice, brown rice, or fried rice and veggies!
Chef Andy Kho created this popular Chinese dish in 1987 and inspired by the flavors and textures of another chicken dish from Hunan, China. When I first had this dish, I instantly fell in love with the sweet flavor profile!
What sets my recipe apart is that it's not spicy so it's great for kids! You can easily make it spicy by adding chili flakes to the sauce.
Ingredients
Please scroll down to Recipe card for full measurements.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: Or substitute with boneless skinless chicken breast but please reduce the frying time by a couple minutes.
- Cornstarch or potato starch: avoid using tapioca starch as this causes the chicken to stick to one another when frying.
- Neutral oil: any flavorless oil like avocado oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil or coconut oil due to its heavier scent.
- Sesame seeds: optional garnish (omit if you're allergic)
- Orange zest: optional garnish
- Green onions: optional garnish
Orange Sauce
- Freshly squeezed orange juice without pulp: I recommended juice from fresh oranges over store bought. However, if you must use store bought, please avoid the ones with pulp and do not use Concentrate orange juice.
- White vinegar, rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce.
- Garlic
- Ginger powder: or substitute with minced ginger.
- Cornstarch or potato starch
Variations
- If you’re gluten-free, substitute the soy sauce with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- For a vegetarian version: substitute the chicken with diced extra-firm tofu.
Expert Tips
- Do Not Pat Chicken Dry. The moisture from the chicken helps the cornstarch stick. In fact, if your chicken is abnormally dry to the touch, I recommend adding ¼ teaspoon of cold water to the diced chicken in your bowl before coating it in starch.
- Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice is Recommended over store bought juice.
- Dice chicken into even bite sized pieces so they cook evenly.
- Fry chicken in small batches to avoid overcrowding. This leads to less crispy chicken as it lowers the temperature in the pan or in the air fryer.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make orange chicken:
Prepare Sauce
In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients. Mix well and set aside.
Prepare Chicken
Do not pat chicken thighs dry, some moisture is needed so the starch can adhere to the chicken. Dice thighs into bite size pieces, about 1.5 x 1.5-inch-wide pieces (about 6-8 pcs per thigh, depending on size).
Coat Chicken in Starch
Transfer pieces of chicken into a large bowl, followed by cornstarch. Mix to coat each piece evenly with tongs.
Shallow Fry Chicken
In a wok or large skillet on medium high heat, add vegetable oil. Allow oil to get hot. Tip: To test, insert a wooden chopstick into the oil and look for bubbles. If you see bubbles, the oil is hot.
Carefully lower coated chicken into the oil and quickly spread apart. Once chicken is spread apart, do not touch or move the pieces around. Allow pieces to sear and form a golden crust, about 5-6 minutes on each side.
Once a golden crust has formed, flip chicken over and cook on the other side until golden brown.
Remove and transfer fried chicken onto a wire rack resting on a baking sheet or a plate lined with paper towels to drain off excess oil. Pour out any excess oil from pan.
Simmer Sauce
In a pan set over medium high heat, pour sauce in. Stirring consistently until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
Toss in Chicken & Garnish
Mix in fried chicken until pieces are coated in sauce. Garnish with orange zest, sesame seeds and green onions. Serve & enjoy!
How do I air fry the chicken?
- Lightly spray air fryer basket with vegetable oil or any neutral oil. Lay coated chicken into air fryer basket in a single layer giving each piece enough space. Lightly spray oil over coated chicken.
- You may need to air fry in small batches if needed depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Air fry at 400 F for 12-14 minutes until golden crispy brown. The amount of time depends on your air fryer.
Note: I have a Philips Air Fryer and I air fried mine at 400 degrees at 14 minutes for a crispy texture. If you’re using a different appliance, check your chicken at 12 minutes and if it needs more crispiness, air fry for another couple minutes until you reach your desired texture.
Storage & Reheating
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
- To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on the stovetop over medium heat.
- Freezer-friendly? Yes, cooked orange chicken can be frozen up to a month in a ziplock bag. To reheat, defrost it and reheat in the microwave until hot or in a pan on the stovetop.
Pairing Suggestions
This serves well with egg rolls, egg drop soup, white rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice, chow mein, lo mein, plain noodles, or spicy garlic bok choy, gai lan, or garlic green beans.
FAQ
By adding ½-1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, red chili flakes to the Sauce before your simmer it.
Yes, feel free to substitute the protein with either diced pork, marbled beef, extra-firm tofu, or even peeled shrimp.
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup cornstarch or sub with potato starch
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil or any neutral tasting oil (if you're Air Frying, sub with 2 tablespoon of oil)
Orange Chicken Sauce:
- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice pulp removed (about 4-5 medium sized oranges)
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar or rice vinegar
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon ginger powder or sub with freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or sub with potato starch
- ½ tsp red chili flakes optional if you prefer it spicy
Optional Garnish
- ½ green onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp orange zest grated
- 1 tsp sesame seeds toasted
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients as listed above. Mix well and set aside.
- Do not pat chicken thighs dry, some moisture is needed for the next step. Dice thighs into 1.5 x 1.5-inch-wide pieces (about 6-8 pcs per thigh, depending on size).
- Transfer pieces of chicken into a large bowl, followed by cornstarch or potato starch. Mix to coat each piece evenly with tongs.
Shallow Fry Method:
- In a wok or large skillet on medium high heat, add vegetable oil. Allow oil to get hot. Tip: To test, insert a wooden chopstick into the oil and look for bubbles. If you see bubbles, the oil is hot.Carefully lower coated chicken into oil and quickly spread apart. Once chicken is spread apart, do not touch or move the pieces around. Allow pieces to sear and form a golden crust, about 5-6 minutes on each side. Once a golden crust has formed, flip chicken pieces over and cook on the other side until golden brown.Remove and transfer fried chicken onto a wire rack resting on a baking sheet or a plate lined with paper towels to drain off excess oil. Pour out any excess oil from pan.
Alternative Air Fry Method:
- Lightly spray air fryer basket with vegetable oil or any neutral oil.Lay coated chicken into air fryer basket in a single layer giving each piece enough space. You may need to air fry in small batches if needed depending on the size of your air fryer. Lightly spray oil over coated chicken.Air fry at 400 degrees F for 12-14 minutes until golden crispy brown. The amount of time depends on your air fryer.Note: I have a Philips Air Fryer and I air fried mine at 400 degrees at 14 minutes for a crispy texture. If you’re using a different machine, check your chicken at 12 minutes and if it needs more crispiness, air fry for another couple minutes until you reach your desired texture.
Sauce:
- In a pan set over medium high heat, pour sauce in. Stirring consistently until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
- Mix in fried chicken until pieces are coated in sauce.
- Optional: garnish with orange zest, sesame seeds and green onions. Serve & enjoy!
Lisa
I have been making your recipes for the past couple days! I made this last night with lo mein, and made the general tso chicken the other day! I love how easy your recipes are and they taste amazing! My son has a gluten allergy, so he has been missing out on anything with soy sauce and he’s so happy he can finally try. I will be doing the lemon chicken next! So glad you popped up on my FYP on tiktok, since that’s how I found you!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipes and for sharing how you found me, Lisa! I appreciate you sharing your reviews and glad they're all easy and taste delicious 🙂 I am so sorry to hear that your song has a gluten allergy and happy I can provide GF substitutes where possible.
Keisha Sibert
My go to recipe for Orange chicken!
Christie Lai
This is truly music to my ears! Thanks so much for making it!!!