Orange Chicken

Whenever I stop at Trader Joe’s in Minneapolis, I have to pick up at least 3 bags of their Mandarin Orange Chicken. I haven’t been able to get there for awhile, and I was craving it, so I decided to try making my own. This recipe is just as good as the Mandarin Chicken at Trader Joe’s. What I like most about the Mandarin chicken at Trader Joe’s is, how simple it is to make. You just cook the chicken in the oven, heat the sauce up in the microwave, and they even have those rice packets you can heat up in the microwave. Sometimes, it’s just easier to have everything pre cooked and that is another reason why I like Trader Joe’s. Oh how I wish Fargo would get one of those stores these days. That would be totally awesome.

I was trying to figure out a way to make this lighter but I find it kind of difficult to get chicken crispy when you just bake it in the oven. You could probably not even fry the chicken and just cut the chicken up into cubes and bake them in the oven that way. It would have twice as less calories. OR, I want to try this recipe in the crock pot. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and poor it over the chicken, then let it cook in the crock pot and you can shred it up when it’s done.  I’d make this again whenever I’m out of Mandarin Orange Chicken Trader Joe’s. 🙂

Now I think it’s time to turn on some Scentsy in order to get this awful deep fry fryer smell out of my house.

Orange Chicken recipe from Key Ingredients

Orange Chicken

---

• Author: Jenna
• Yield: 6 to 8 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken strips, cut into 1–½” cubes
• 1½ cups flour
• 1 eggs, beaten
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• Oil for frying
• ORANGE SAUCE:
• 1½ cups water
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ⅓ cup rice vinegar
• 2½ tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon orange zest, grated
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons green onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

---

Instructions

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 fry chicken in batches until completely cooked (about 2-3 minutes per side). Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine 1 1/4 cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce.
3. Stir well over medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.
4. 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. 
5. Serving Size: 1 cup 

---

Notes

myWW points: Blue Points: 6; Green Points: 10;  Purple Points: 6