I recently shared a ridiculously simple frozen dessert incorporating oranges: Zesty Orange Sherbet. However, icy cold desserts in the middle of winter aren’t everyone’s cup of tea! For those who’d say no to the former, how does a steaming hot bowl of beautifully-glazed sweet and sour Orange Chicken sound? Golden, battered, deep-fried chicken doused in the most amazing sticky orange glaze, paired with the crunch of spring onions and the earthiness of sesame; this orange chicken is nothing short of spectacular when paired with something as simple as steamed rice. It’s also just as divine when eaten with pasta. If you like, you can even make this dish using fish or prawns! If you’re a fan of sweet and sour Chinese cuisine or sinfully divine glazes and sauces, you must scramble to your kitchen right now and get cooking! Take my word for it, resistance is futile!

Ingredients:

  • Chicken Breasts (Boneless) - 5, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • Cooking Oil - 4 teaspoons
  • Garlic - 6 cloves, minced
  • Spring Onions (Chopped) - for garnish
  • White Sesame - for garnish
  • Oil - for deep frying
For Frying Batter:
  • Eggs - 3
  • All-Purpose Flour (Sifted) - ¾ cup
  • Cornflour - 6 tablespoons
  • Baking Powder - 1 ½ teaspoons
  • Water (Ice Cold) - ¾ cup
  • Cooking Oil - 1 ½ teaspoons
  • Salt - ½ teaspoon
For Orange Sauce:
  • Orange Juice (Freshly Squeezed) - ¾ cup
  • Orange Zest - 1 ½ teaspoons
  • Chili Garlic Sauce - 3 tablespoons
  • Chicken Stock - 9 tablespoons
  • Soy Sauce - 3 tablespoons
  • Sugar - 7 to 12 teaspoons (depending on how sweet or sour your oranges are; add 7 teaspoons first, then balance the sweetness, sourness and saltiness of the sauce as desired)
  • White Vinegar - 3 teaspoons
  • Cornflour - 4 teaspoons
  • Preparation time : 20 minutes
  • Cooking time : 20 minutes

Instructions:

  1. In a bowl, mix in all the Orange Sauce ingredients and set aside
  2. For the batter, whisk eggs in a large bowl and mix in the rest of the batter ingredients until smooth
  3. Drop in the chicken cubes into the batter, mix well, then deep fry the chicken in batches till golden brown and cooked through
  4. DO NOT overcrowd the wok, nor fry the chicken over a very high flame, or the chicken will remain raw while the batter becomes golden!
  5. Drain the excess oil from the chicken and set aside
  6. In a separate saucepan, heat 4 teaspoons of cooking oil and add the chopped garlic
  7. Once the garlic turns a light golden brown and becomes fragrant, gently pour in the orange sauce that you had set aside in the beginning. Caution: Be careful - the sauce will sizzle slightly once poured into the hot oil
  8. Bring sauce to a boil and let it simmer for a couple of minutes till it thickens
  9. At this stage, check once again for balance between the three S's: sweet, sour and salty. Adjust accordingly
  10. You can also add more cornflour slurry, or water, to thicken up or loosen the glaze/sauce if you so desire
  11. Once the glaze thickens, add the fried chicken to the sauce and let it simmer in and soak up the glaze
  12. Dish out, garnish with chopped spring onions and sesame
  13. Serve hot with steamed rice or pasta