OK, everybody out there who likes Panda Express’ “Orange Chicken” raise your hand! Yep, there’s a lot of us who enjoy the slightly gooey sweetness with just a bit of kick in it.
You can make it yourself, you know. But let me tell you, it’s just a little bit of a pain in the butt. Don’t let that deter you because it’s pretty much worth it and you can feed 4 for less than what one “order” of it is going to cost you at Panda Express. And it’s fresh ingredients…NO PRESERVATIVES!
Cheap Bastid went to work on this and the first results were pretty good but they’re still a work in progress. Sometime soon I’ll give it another whack taking a little different approach with the sauce to try to get it “dialed in” just a bit better.
But, I did the experimenting and cussing so that you don’t necessarily have to. I researched a number of recipes and pulled up the ones that I thought most likely to provide the results I was looking for. So, the recipe that I’m doing today is adapted from those.
I had to try a couple of different approaches to battering the chicken (and I went back to the “tried and true” way of “double-dredging that I know will work). And I wasn’t satisfied with the recipe I tried for the sauce—even though the flavor was exactly what I was looking for. So, I’m including a different approach that I know will provide the kind of coating that will get the right results.
And last, pay a lot of attention to temperature control when you’re cooking the chicken. I went too high—traditional “wokking” temperature—when what you really want for frying the battered chicken (you know, coated with batter not beat up and abused) is closer to medium high to get the more golden color and the chicken cooked through.
Make a pot of rice to serve under the Orange Chicken. See Cheap Bastid’s post:
http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/steamed-rice/
So here goes:
Recipe: Cheap Bastid’s Orange Chicken
Summary: Do you love Panda Express’ Orange Chicken? Here’s a tasty, inexpensive version of it you can make at home!
Ingredients
- 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (1-1 ½ lbs)
- 3 cups cooking oil
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ½ tbsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- For Sauce:
- 4 oranges (zested and juiced)
- 1/3 cup broth
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar or other vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
- Salt
- 1 tbsp Crushed red pepper (or less if you don’t like hot)
- 1 tsp Garlic (more or less)
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- Steamed rice
Instructions
- Do ALL the prep work first. Get out your wok or a deep pot for frying and big sauté pan.
- Get out your cutting board and chef’s knife, 2 shallow plastic dishes and a bowl for the cut chicken.
- Rinse the breasts and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Cut the breasts across the grain into about 3/8 inch slices then cut each slice in half or thirds so they’re about an inch long.
- Put chicken in bowl.
- Put flour, corn starch and baking soda in one dish. Add about a tsp of salt. Put the eggs and milk into another dish.
- Set up the wok or deep pot on the stove with the bowls of chicken, egg and flour next to it. Do NOT start cooking yet.
- Clean off your cutting board and knife. Get out 1 medium and 2 small bowls.
- Using a zester or grater, remove about a tbsp zest from the orange peels. Put in a small bowl.
- Cut oranges in half and use a juicer to squeeze 2/3-3/4 cup of juice into a bowl.
- Make cornstarch slurry—1 tbsp cornstarch & 2 tbsp water. Put in small bowl.
- Put juice, broth, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar into bowl and mix well.
- Set these aside for when you are finishing the dish.
- Put wok or pot on large burner on stove. Turn stove to medium high. Add oil. (Do not heat to smoking temperature. If it smokes, turn heat down a notch).
- Put plate/shallow bowl lined with paper towels in a clear spot. Have a scooper/strainer or “spider” handy to handle chicken in the oil.
- Batter about 12 chunks of chicken at a time but dumping them into the flour then moving them to the “wet” (egg/milk) and then back to the flour. Use the 2 hand method (one hand for dry or one for wet) or use a fork to scoop chicken to the wet and back into the flour.
- After 2nd dredging in flour mix, drop each piece into the hot oil. Let it cook until light golden, about 2 minutes—3 minutes max (it’s always a bit darker than it looks).
- Remove with scooper to the paper towel lined dish.
- Cook all the chicken.
- Turn heat off. Drain oil from wok when it cools a bit if you’re using one and then rinse it/wipe it out.
- Move the sauce ingredients to counter next to wok.
- Put wok back on the stove. Add 2 tbsp oil and swirl around to coat the wok. Turn heat to medium and let the wok heat up.
- Add the bowl of sauce liquids (juice, soy sauce, vinegar, broth, etc) and stir. Let them come to a slow bubbling—reduce heat if needed.
- Add orange zest, garlic, ginger, salt and crushed red pepper.
- Stir well then add the cornstarch slurry and stir some more. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Let the cornstarch slurry thicken the sauce.
- Add the chicken to the sauce and stir, stir, stir until all is mixed and all of the chicken is coated with the sauce.
- Serve over steamed rice. http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/steamed-rice/
Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 30 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
That’s a bit of work, isn’t it. Fortunately it’s not brain surgery but it takes some organizing and patience to cook. A lot of oriental cooking is that way. It’s pretty easy but you have to be organized and do ALL the prep work first.
You’ll like the taste of this. It’s got some sweetness and a bit of kick at the same time. All those things we enjoy when we get this at Panda Express. It’s a bit of effort but, you made it yourself! And you saved some money. Plus, I find that I can “lose myself” in the prep work and cooking. It’s a different kind of thinking which is a change of pace and in its own way is relaxing.
The next time I cook this, I’ll be trying a different approach to the sauce to see if it’s better or quicker. I’ll be using orange marmalade for the base of the sauce. I’ve tried it before and it works pretty well.
The Cheap Bastid Test: The chicken cost about $3.25. The oranges $1 at the dollar store. 2 eggs are $.35. And I had all the other ingredients so call it an additional $2. The total is $6.60 to feed a family of 4. That’s $1.65 each! It’ll take you about an hour and a half start to finish (more if you’re like me and take breaks).
That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!
This looks good walter. going to try it this week.
Hey there Cheap Bastid! I like your style, I found your blog researching recipes for hot mexican carrots (I started from your method and improvised a bit and it is great!), and am now poking around at a lot of other recipes. You should have a Food Network show! I like how you explain as you go along and include tips on efficiency and other notes you have found helpful. Keep up the good work!