Orange sauce is a mixture made up of orange juice, rice vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce and it gets thickened with a cornstarch slurry. Skip the takeout version and make this lightened up version of Orange Chicken at home!
Orange chicken is a classic at any Chinese restaurant and I revamped the recipe to make healthier and lower in calories! Next time skip the takeout or opening up a bag of already prepared frozen chicken in the stores and make your own at home instead.
Heres how I lowered the calories of this recipe. If you order at Panda Express it comes to 16 points! That is crazy high. Instead of deep-frying the chicken in oil, you can get the skin a little crispy by frying it in a pan with a little bit oil. Orange chicken can also be made in your air fryer and I have also included instructions on how to make it below.
With an air fryer, the clean up is easier and a lot better than cooking it in a frying pan. For the sauce, I used less sugar than what most orange chicken recipes call for.
What is in Orange Sauce?
There are a few ingredients you will need to make orange sauce. Soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, minced garlic, and cornstarch are a few staples that I have in my pantry at all times and you can make just about any sauce with those staple ingredients.
Orange zest – use a Microplane to zest. One of these works the best.
Orange Juice – use the juice from freshly squeezed oranges or prepared orange juice
Soy Sauce – low sodium is always best and will help cut back on salt.
The main idea is to bring all the liquid ingredients to a low simmer. In a bowl mix together the water and the cornstarch. This will create a white pasty mixture and will help to thicken the orange sauce. It is so easy to make and is very similar to making a sweet and sour sauce.
Air Fryer Orange Chicken
Orange chicken can be made in your air fryer!
Dip the chicken in flour or corn starch and add the chicken in batches to your air fryer. Spray the chicken well with cooking spray and air fry the chicken at 350 for 12 minutes. Flip halfway through to the get the chicken extra crispy.
While the chicken is cooking in the air fryer make the sauce.
Take the chicken out of the air fryer and add it to a bowl. Then add the sauce on top of the chicken and toss it to coat.
Serve with rice on the side.
How to make Orange Chicken
1. Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a large zip-lock bag. Dip chicken in beaten egg and shake in flour mixture to coat.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook chicken in batches until completely cooked (about 2-3 minutes per side).
3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine 1 1/4 cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce.
4. Stir well over medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger,
5. garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.
6. Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken and garnish with green onions.
7. Serving Size: 1/2 cup
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*If you make this recipe please comment and rate the recipe below to let everyone know how it is, or tag me on Instagram! If you want to upload a photo you can do that on Pinterest. Just find the post for it.
Healthy Orange Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 30 min
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
1 ¼ pound boneless skinless chicken strips, cut into 1-½” cubes
2 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tsp of olive oil
ORANGE SAUCE:
1½ cups water
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
⅓ cup rice vinegar
2½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest, grated
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ginger
2 scallions, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a large zip-lock bag. Dip chicken in beaten egg and shake in flour mixture to coat.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook chicken in batches until completely cooked (about 2-3 minutes per side).
3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine 1 1/4 cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce.
4. Stir well over medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger,
5. garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.
6. Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken and garnish with green onions.
7. Serving Size: 1/2 cup (if that isn’t enough have more!)
See notes above for air fryer instructions!
Notes
myWW points: Blue 5; Green 7; Purple 5
Can sub brown sugar substitute like Splenda to help lower points
- Category: Easy
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
Keywords: orange chicken
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