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Crispy, flavorful, and easy to make sesame orange chicken that’s better than takeout and just as tasty!
There’s nothing that I love more than recreating my favorite takeout dishes at home! It’s honestly a great way to play with techniques and flavors! Now while I’ll never abandon my local takeout spot, I also love knowing how to whip up my go to dishes.
These stir fry dishes are great dinner ideas, meal prep options, and dinner party must haves. In fact, I freestyle this recipe during at-home date night with my husband. We had way too many oranges in the house and decided to make Sesame Orange Chicken.
In the end, we fell in love with the orange marmalade and quickly added more oranges to our grocery list to make this dish again! It’s perfectly crispy, sweet, and tastes even better with a little extra spice, toasted sesame seeds, and fried rice.
Don’t fret! The beauty with this recipe is that you probably have all of the ingredients right at home!
Chicken Breast & Thighs: You can use either/or. I personally love mixing the two since you get the best of both worlds.
Cornstarch & All Purpose Flour: This chicken is crispy! Combining the two gives you chicken that will become your new addiction!
Fresh Oranges: That extra bit of orange zest takes the orange flavor of this dish to the next level! Orange isn’t just in the name of this dish – it’s in the flavor!
Mirin: Think of this as a sweet Japanese rice wine that adds the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. It’s the perfect addition to this dish that’s both sweet and savory
This recipe is all about the crispy chicken and the sticky orange sauce! The combination of the two textures is also what makes this dish a joy to behold. While you can easily skip this step, I highly recommend making this batter.
The batter is super simple and results in crispy chicken that you can eat bare – without sauce. That’s how tasty it is! First, cut your chicken into even 2 inch cubes. Then add kosher salt, eggs, cornstarch, and all purpose flour.
Get your hands dirty and mix everything until it’s well combined! The batter will be sticky and maybe even a little bit messy. However, the end result will be crispy chicken that you can’t get enough of!
Once you’ve mixed the chicken in the batter, heat up your frying oil of choice. I prefer to pan-fry the chicken in 1 inch of oil since deep fryers use up way too much oil. As I’m frying the chicken, I nudge it every minute so that the chicken doesn’t stick together.
I know the chicken is done frying when it’s golden and crispy. I then remove the chicken from oil and place it into a colander or wire rack where the excess oil will drip.
The crispy chicken is all about texture. However, the orange marmalade is where the flavor shines! Once you’re done frying the chicken, remove 95% of the oil.
Then gently saute ginger and tons of garlic. Add soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, sesame oil, orange juice, and the zest of an orange. If you like it spicy, add sliced fresh chilis or chili flakes.
This sauce comes together fairly quickly so you’ll want to have all of your ingredients ready to go! Afterwards, add the cornstarch slurry and watch as the sauce thickens. Toss the chicken in the sauce and garnish with toasted sesame seeds, scallions, and more chili flakes.
Chicken Breast vs. Chicken Thighs: What’s Better To Use?
You can use either/or. This truly depends on personal preference. Chicken thighs are juicier and chicken breast can easily dry out if overcooked. I like to have a mix of both. The key is to cut the chicken chunks into even sizes so that they cook evenly
What’s The Best Oil To Use When Frying?
Once again, the oil that you choose to use comes down to personal preference. The key is to use a neutral oil with a high smoking point since we’re frying the chicken. For this recipe, I used vegetable oil. However, you can use avocado oil or canola oil. The choice is up to you!
What’s The Best Way To Re-Heat This Dish?
This dish is phenomenal because it’s crispy with a sticky orange sauce. If you want to keep the same textures when re-heating, I recommend reheating the chicken in the oven or air-fryer. This will give you the best results. You can also reheat this dish in a saute pan over medium heat with 1 tbsp of oil.
Can I Use The Orange Sauce On Other Recipes?
If you can’t get enough of this sauce, don’t be afraid to try this sauce with shrimp or pork! You can also use this sauce on hearty veggies like cauliflower and broccoli.
Try These Crispy Chicken Recipes
Sesame Orange Chicken
Crispy, flavorful, and easy to make sesame orange chicken with a homemade orange marmalade sauce that’s better than takeout and just as tasty!
- Total Time1 Hour 10 Minutes
- Yield6 Servings 1x
- DietDairy-Free
Ingredients
Chicken
- 3 lbs Chicken Thighs or Breasts *can be a mix of both*
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- Vegetable or Canola Oil for Frying
Orange Sauce
- 1 Head of Minced Garlic
- 2 tablespoon Minced Ginger
- 3/4 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 1/4 cup Mirin
- 1/4 cup Orange Juice
- Juice of 1 Fresh Orange
- Zest of 1 Orange
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Water
- 1/2 tablespoon Toasted Sesame Seeds for Garnishing
- 1 Scallion Chopped for Garnishing
Instructions
Chicken
- Dice chicken into even 2 inch cubes. Then add kosher salt, black peppers, eggs, all purpose flour, cornstarch. Mix until well combined and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Heat wok over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil until it’s 1 inch deep. Once oil is hot and begins to slightly smoke, add chicken and fry in small batches. Mix chicken after a minute to make sure that it’s not sticking together. Fry chicken until golden brown and crispy. Continue to nudge chicken every minute so that it doesn’t stick together. Once the chicken is done frying, remove and place onto a wire rack to drain excess oil. Repeat until all of the chicken has been fried.
Sauce
- Remove 95% oil from wok and reduce heat to medium. Then add minced ginger and garlic. Saute for vigorously for 30 secs making sure that the garlic and ginger does not burn. Then add soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, orange juice, orange zest, and chili flakes. Cook for 3 minutes until sauce begins to simmer.
- In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water. Afterwards, add cornstarch slurry to orange sauce. Cook for an additional 3 minutes until sauce thickens.
- Once sauce has thickened, add crispy fried chicken and toss in orange sauce. When chicken is fully coated in sauce, sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and toss again. Garnish with chopped scallions and enjoy chicken while warm with fried rice and veggies of choice
Notes
Re-Heating
- For best results, re-heat dish on the stove or oven
- Stove Top: Add 1 teaspoon of oil to a saute pan and re-heat chicken until crispy once again
- Oven: Set oven to 350°F and heat chicken until warm and crispy throughout
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 40 Minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Frying, Sautéing
- Cuisine: Asian