When you go out for – or order in – Chinese food, what’s your favorite dish? Though some might vote for egg rolls or sweet-and-sour pork, the one we see everybody clamoring for is orange chicken. So, of course, we had to try to figure out the simplest way to make it ourselves and then share it with you! This recipe is not only one of the easiest takes on at-home Chinese-American food we’ve ever seen, it’s one of the easiest chicken dishes we’ve tried, period. If you’re looking for a more involved orange chicken check out this recipe.

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EASY ORANGE CHICKEN
Serves 4

You’ll Need
– 1 cup barbecue sauce (We used Sweet Baby Ray’s!)
– 1 cup sweet orange marmalade
– 2 tablespoons soy sauce
– 3 tablespoons orange juice
– 3 to 4 chicken breasts (about 1 ¼ pounds), cut into 1-inch chunks
– ½ cup all-purpose flour
– ½ cup cornstarch
– 2 eggs, lightly beaten
– 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil

How To

  1. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the barbecue sauce, marmalade, soy sauce and orange juice. Simmer for 20 minutes, melding the flavors, while preparing the chicken.
  2. In a shallow medium bowl, stir the flour and cornstarch together. Place the eggs in a separate small bowl.
  3. Bread the chicken pieces by first dipping them in the egg, then in the flour-cornstarch mixture.
  4. In a nonstick skillet over medium heat – and in two batches to prevent overcrowding – fry the chicken in the peanut/vegetable oil.
  5. Once all of the chicken is tender and cooked-through, add it to the sauce and stir to coat thoroughly.

Tips

  • To cut down on messiness while breading anything, use one hand to dip in the wet ingredient(s) and the other hand to dip and coat in the dry ingredient(s).
  • To make sure all of the chicken pieces are cooked correctly, cut apart the largest piece.
  • This dish is excellent served over steamed rice with a side of steamed broccoli.