Orange Chicken from Scratch

 Every Sunday, we have gotten into the habit of having some sort of Asian inspired dinner. One night my husband wanted Orange Chicken but I had run out of my cheater Orange Sauce I keep in the fridge. So I made it from scratch!

Orange Chicken

Ingredients
Chicken:

2lbs chicken breast or thigh, cut into 1 inch chunks

1 1/2 cups cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp pepper

Oil for frying

Sauce: 

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup orange juice

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 1/2 Tbs Soy Sauce

1 Tbs Orange Zest, chopped

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp ginger root, minced

1/2 tsp garlic, minced

2 Tbs Green Onion, chopped

1/4 tsp Red Pepper flakes

Thickener:

3 Tbs Cornstarch

1/4 cup water

Step 1

Toss chicken, salt, pepper, and cornstarch together. Fry in oil until browned and cooked through. Set aside.

Step 2

In a saucepan, combine water, orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, green onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil.

Step 3

Mix together the remaining cornstarch and water in a cup until smooth. Whisk into the orange sauce. Boil until thickened then add back the chicken. Heat through. Serve over rice.