Are you looking for the best way to recreate a delicious chicken recipe? Look no further. This orange chicken is an easy Chinese dish that will easily fit your healthy lifestyle. The origin of this recipe is thought to be Hunan (a province in China) and is best described as an American-Chinese dish due to the slight modifications. The recipe can only be described as absolutely delicious and fun.

There are numerous ways to prepare chicken and this is mainly because it’s the most common poultry around the globe. It’s one of the most common meals in Asian and some of its best recipes are from this region. Chicken meat is rich in essential vitamins and nutrients.

Precooking tips

It’s always good to take care of small kids at home. Using the back burner would be a great choice as it ensures the safety of curious kids in the kitchen. It’s also good to ensure raw chicken is refrigerated promptly. Leaving it at room temperatures might not be healthy as it encourages the growth of bacteria. Also make sure to cook with a good quality pan and that your pan is hot before starting to cook the recipe.

Recipe: Chinese Orange Chicken

Time: 1 hour | servings: 3 | cuisine: Chinese | recipe type: healthy

Ingredients

  • 1 can vegetable broth
  • 2 skinless chicken breast halves (boneless), cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup wild rice rinsed, use brown or white rice
  • 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 2 tsp. teriyaki sauce
  • 1 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1   tsp. maple syrup
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Non-stick cooking spray, vegetable
  • 1 cup dried currants
  • 3 cups fresh snow peas
  • 1 large orange, peeled, separated into small segments
  • 3 tsp. grated orange peel
  • 3 thinly sliced green onions
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Method

  1. In a large cookware saucepan, combine the rice and chicken broth, boil on medium high heat. Once it boils reduce the heat and let it simmer on low. Cover the saucepan and continue cooking until the rice is completely tender, about 20 minutes.
  2. When the rice is fully cooked, remove from heat and keep it covered. This will help to keep it warm as you finish preparing the other ingredients.
  3. In a blender mix the orange juice, maple syrup, cornstarch and garlic cloves. Blend until they are smooth and finely incorporated. Since the cornstarch settles to the bottom, you will need to stir this mixture again. Looking for a great blender? Here are some great blender options.
  4. Grease a medium sized skillet, with the non-stick spray. Place the skillet on high heat, allow it to be very hot. Add the chicken and cook for 20 minutes. Stir the orange sauce well and pour it over the chicken, and pour all the currants into the skillet. Bring to a rolling boil and let it cook uncovered. This should take about 3 minutes before you add the snow peas, orange segments, and the orange peels. Stir thoroughly and cook on high for another 2 minutes. Combine cilantro and onions and heat for another 1 minute.
  5. Serve the chicken over brown rice, then top with the remaining pieces of orange peels.

Nutrition facts

  • Number of calories: 478
  • Total fats: 9.2g
  • Cholesterol:165.6mg
  • Protein: 56.7g
  • Carbohydrates: 27.8g
  • Fiber:3g
  • Sodium: 993.2mg

Conclusion

Since orange peel is not very popular due to its flavour, it can be substituted with the fresh orange zest. Also in our recipe, we have used skinless boneless chicken breast due to its great texture and flavor. You can replace it with another part like the boneless chicken thigh and the results will be the same. You can also use honey as a replacement for the maple syrup. It’s great and delivers the same results. The recipe is very clear and easy to follow and is made with readily available ingredients. Try it at home and you will be in for a wonderful treat.

Kanisha is the founder and writer of FortunateKitchen, a blog about everything food related from the basics of food preparation to learning how to make exquisite dishes. She is a self-taught chef with a curiosity and passion for food blogging. She is on a mission to educate and teach her readers one recipe and kitchen technique at a time, all while she balances her own hectic life as a mom