You know those comfort food recipes that feel like a healthy, long term relationship? That’s this orange chicken. I learned how to deep fry, make a sauce, and properly cook rice while developing this recipe. Needless to say, it’s pretty special, and I make it as often as I can.

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dark gray plate of orange chicken, piled on top of white rice and garnished with scallion and sesame seeds. this recipe

Sauce + Marinade

I am really proud of how orange-y this orange sauce is. It’s not overly sweet, with only 1/3 cup of sugar for more than 3 cups of liquid. If that still seems sweet, let me remind you that there’s vinegar and soy sauce also included here. The balance is amazing, trust me.

Just like my bourbon chicken, the mixture I use for the marinade is the same one I use for the sauce. Easy and not wasteful. Simply combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl that’s large enough for all the chicken to fit and comfortably sink all the way down into the marinade. Whisk it until the sugar dissolves, and then remove most of the orange mixture to make into the thickened sauce for the chicken.

dark gray plate of orange chicken, piled on top of white rice and garnished with scallion and sesame seeds.

Chicken

Light or dark meat, it’s your choice so long as it’s boneless. The best best best version of this orange chicken uses boneless, skinless thighs cut up into 3 inch chunks. The dark meat is just better, at least for me. But I’ve used breast meat with absolutely no issues. It always tastes fantastic, no matter what part of the chicken you use.

After you drain the marinade off the chicken, you need to blot it mostly dry with paper towels. Getting rid of unnecessary liquid means the cornstarch dredge will stick without getting gloopy, and the frying won’t splatter as badly.

top view of several ingredients needed to make orange chicken, including whole orange and chicken broth.
a close up photo of a few pieces of orange chicken before being tossed in orange sauce.

Rice

So, there’s a LOT of people who say that you have to simmer rice in order for it to be perfect. And while that’s still a good method, this one has never failed to give me perfect results, every time. Add the dry, unrinsed rice to boiling water with a little oil and salt, and stir it once. Let it boil for 10 minutes uncovered, only stirring maybe twice more while it cooks. Strain and rinse the cooked rice with hot water, and add a little more salt to taste. You might not ever go back to simmering!

Tips for deep frying success

Deep frying seems really scary, but as long as you have a good respect for the process and are aware of the hazards, you’ll be fine. And by respect for the process, I mean using some common sense. We talked about this briefly a couple points ago with the chicken, so I’ll start there.

Remove as much moisture from whatever you’re frying before you fry it. In this case, use paper towels to blot the chicken dry from any leftover marinade after it’s been drained. In addition to adding a crisp coating, the cornstarch also helps keep everything nice and dry. Excess moisture means unnecessary splatter and bubbling in the oil that could spill over.

dark gray plate of orange chicken, piled on top of white rice and garnished with scallion and sesame seeds.

Babysit that oil. Once the oil comes up to temperature, you should be ready to drop in the food. Watch the thermometer. The oil temperature should stop climbing, stall for a couple seconds, and then drop by ~5 degrees. As the chicken cooks, the oil temp will slowly rebound. Once it reaches the initial pre-food temperature, remove the cooked chicken and add the next batch.

Always treat deep frying with kid gloves. Spills and fires can happen to anyone, no matter how experienced you are. Watch your heat, your oil, and use good judgement.

Serve!

We love to serve this orange chicken and rice with some sesame seeds and diced scallions. However, toppings are up to you!

Print
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dark gray plate of orange chicken, piled on top of white rice and garnished with scallion and sesame seeds.

Orange Chicken and Rice

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  • Author: Megan
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour + 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stovetop, Deep Fry
  • Cuisine: Chinese
Print Recipe

Description

Sweet, savory and absolutely delicious, you’ll want to make this recipe over and over again. It will quickly become a favorite!

Ingredients

Units Scale

To prepare the chicken, orange marinade and sauce:

  • 1–2 lbs boneless chicken, cut into 3 inch pieces
  • Juice and zest from 3-4 large oranges, or 2 cups fresh juice
  • 2 1/2 tsp garlic paste
  • 2 tsp ginger paste
  • 1 cup chicken broth or stock
  • 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 tsp sriracha
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp ground white pepper

To coat and fry the chicken:

  • 1/2–1 gallon peanut oil (measurement depends on how deep your stock pot is)
  • 3/4 cup cornstarch

For the rice:

  • 4 cups water
  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp salt, divided

To garnish (optional):

  • 2–3 scallions, diced on the bias (diagonally)
  • sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. To prep the chicken and make the marinade, add the chicken pieces to a gallon zip top bag and leave the top open. Set bag aside.
  2. Combine the orange juice, zest, garlic paste, ginger paste, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sriracha, sugar and white pepper in a mixing bowl. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.
  3. Remove 1 cup of the orange marinade and pour it into the gallon zip top bag with the chicken. Do your best to press all the air out of the bag and seal the top. Refrigerate for as long as it takes you to make the sauce and heat the oil for frying.
  4. Pour the remaining orange mixture (about 3 cups) into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once the sauce boils, reduce the heat to medium and continue to gently boil until reduced by a little more than half and thickened. This should take about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally, especially towards the end of the cook time so that nothing burns to the bottom of the pan.
  5. Add the thickened orange sauce to a large mixing bowl and set aside while you fry the chicken.
  6. To fry the chicken, add the peanut oil to a large (8-10 quart) stock pot and clip a candy/deep fry thermometer on the side of the pot. The probe should be 2 inches down into the oil and should never touch the bottom. Set the pot of oil over medium-medium/high heat, and wait for it to reach 360F/182C. 
  7. While the oil is heating, remove the chicken from the fridge and drain the excess marinade. Blot the pieces with a paper towel (or several) until the chicken is just damp. Add the 3/4 cup of cornstarch and toss to coat all the pieces evenly, and set aside while the oil finishes heating up.
  8. Once the oil is at temperature, fry the chicken pieces in batches. Don’t add more than 5 pieces at a time, otherwise the oil temperature will drop too much. It is normal for the oil to cool down by 5-6 degrees when you add each batch of chicken. Allow each batch to fry for about 5 minutes, until the outside coating is golden brown and the oil has rebounded back to 360F/182C. Use a heatproof slotted spoon or skimmer to remove the finished chicken from the oil. Repeat in batches of 5 pieces until all the chicken is done. Remove the oil from the heat immediately and allow to cool to room temperature before storing or disposing. (See notes)
  9. To make the rice, add the 4 cups of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Add the rice, oil and 1 tsp of the salt and stir gently before letting everything come back up to a rolling boil. Keep the pot at a boil and cook for 10 minutes, only stirring once or twice. 
  10. After 10 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat and drain the rice into a fine mesh sieve. Rinse the drained rice with hot water while it’s still in the sieve, stirring a few times. Tap the sieve a few times to get rid of as much water as possible, then add to a serving bowl. Stir the remaining 1 tsp salt into the cooked rice.
  11. Serve. Toss the fried chicken pieces in the orange sauce, and add the desired amount of rice to a plate or bowl. Add the sauced chicken on top of the rice and garnish with the diced scallions and sesame seeds.

Notes

Leftover orange chicken and rice can be stored separately or together, although we prefer to divide the leftovers into servings and store the rice + chicken + sauce all together in meal portions! Heat in the microwave for 45 seconds and stir, then another 30 seconds. The chicken won’t be crisp anymore, but the orange flavor will be even better.

Leftover frying oil can be strained of the large food particles and reused! Just keep the bottle you bought it in, and use a small funnel to add the cooled oil back. Store in a cool, dark place. I have reused oil 10+ times this way. Always smell the oil before using, and discard if you aren’t sure if it’s still good.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: Approx. 1 1/2 cups chicken & rice
  • Calories: 742
  • Sugar: 28.5 g
  • Sodium: 699.9 mg
  • Fat: 34.2 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4 g
  • Trans Fat: 0.1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 88.1 g
  • Fiber: 9.6 g
  • Protein: 27.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 42.6 mg

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