Orange Chicken is a dish unheard of in Australia. In the USA its all
the rage. I first had it at Kan's in San Francisco and I say this
version betters his. Georges Bush's favourite meal is "Uunnge Chucken"
and thats how it should be pronounced. Otherwise we might start a
"Nucklaa war". My kids love this Texan talk and its now part of our
Orange Chicken experience.
This is really quite simple. I'm using a thin crispy coating but your favourite batter will work nicely. You can in fact substitute pork and it is just as good. In the USA most versions are a brown sugar and vinegar sauce with orange zest. And its good. This versions cranks up the orange flavour to a new level. Orange is the star of the dish so make the flavour stand out. Go easy on the vinegar and not too much sugar.
I use thigh meat for superior flavour and texture. Breast is good also. Personally I prefer pork shoulder meat. But when doing a mini banquet sweet and sour pork is a must, so I stick with chicken.
Ingredients
4 Chicken Thighs
1 Onion
1 Tbs Rice wine
4 dashes sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Zest of 1 orange
500ml Orange juice from 4 oranges.
4 Tbs castor sugar
1 Tbs Vinegar (Apple cider)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Orange extract
2 tsp cornflour flour in a little water
1/2 cup Cornflour
2 Tbs Plain flour
2 Tbs cornflour
1 tsp Tumeric Powder
1 egg
1 Tbs milk
2 tsp Sesame seeds
Method::
Debone the thighs and cube the chicken. Cut off the stray bits.
In a bowl add to the cubed chicken the rice wine, sesame oil, salt and sugar. Set aside at least 1 hour.
Remove the zest of 1 orange and dry (microwave 90 secs or so). Finely cut with scissors. Parts of it should actually be like crystals.
In a small saucepan combine rice wine, sugar, vinegar, orange juice, orange extract, lemon juice, and zest.
Simmer 10 minutes till reduced by half. Skim off the foam and strain out the zest. Adjust sugar and or vinegar to taste. Add the cornflour in a little water a bit at a time to thicken. Simmer 10 minutes to cook out the flour.
Cut the onion in half and then 1/3 each half. Discard the inner pieces and reserve the larger outer pieces
Whisk together 2 Tbs flour, 2 Tbs cornflour and the tumeric. Whisk the egg with a little milk to make an egg wash.
Drain and then toss the chicken in just cornflour and stand 20 minutes. Dust again and stand 5 minutes
Dip each piece in the egg wash and recoat in the flour mix.
Deep fry 1 minute. Rest 10 minutes on a wire rack and or refrigerate for later use. Deep fry 1 minute if still warm or 90 seconds if refrigerated.
In a wok with 2 Tbs of peanut oil fry the outer onion pieces for 15 seconds and add in the hot chicken pieces and then the hot orange sauce. Toss 10 seconds. Plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
This is really quite simple. I'm using a thin crispy coating but your favourite batter will work nicely. You can in fact substitute pork and it is just as good. In the USA most versions are a brown sugar and vinegar sauce with orange zest. And its good. This versions cranks up the orange flavour to a new level. Orange is the star of the dish so make the flavour stand out. Go easy on the vinegar and not too much sugar.
I use thigh meat for superior flavour and texture. Breast is good also. Personally I prefer pork shoulder meat. But when doing a mini banquet sweet and sour pork is a must, so I stick with chicken.
Ingredients
4 Chicken Thighs
1 Onion
1 Tbs Rice wine
4 dashes sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Zest of 1 orange
500ml Orange juice from 4 oranges.
4 Tbs castor sugar
1 Tbs Vinegar (Apple cider)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Orange extract
2 tsp cornflour flour in a little water
1/2 cup Cornflour
2 Tbs Plain flour
2 Tbs cornflour
1 tsp Tumeric Powder
1 egg
1 Tbs milk
2 tsp Sesame seeds
Method::
Debone the thighs and cube the chicken. Cut off the stray bits.
In a bowl add to the cubed chicken the rice wine, sesame oil, salt and sugar. Set aside at least 1 hour.
Remove the zest of 1 orange and dry (microwave 90 secs or so). Finely cut with scissors. Parts of it should actually be like crystals.
In a small saucepan combine rice wine, sugar, vinegar, orange juice, orange extract, lemon juice, and zest.
Simmer 10 minutes till reduced by half. Skim off the foam and strain out the zest. Adjust sugar and or vinegar to taste. Add the cornflour in a little water a bit at a time to thicken. Simmer 10 minutes to cook out the flour.
Cut the onion in half and then 1/3 each half. Discard the inner pieces and reserve the larger outer pieces
Whisk together 2 Tbs flour, 2 Tbs cornflour and the tumeric. Whisk the egg with a little milk to make an egg wash.
Drain and then toss the chicken in just cornflour and stand 20 minutes. Dust again and stand 5 minutes
Dip each piece in the egg wash and recoat in the flour mix.
Deep fry 1 minute. Rest 10 minutes on a wire rack and or refrigerate for later use. Deep fry 1 minute if still warm or 90 seconds if refrigerated.
In a wok with 2 Tbs of peanut oil fry the outer onion pieces for 15 seconds and add in the hot chicken pieces and then the hot orange sauce. Toss 10 seconds. Plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
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