Panda Express Orange Chicken

 Homemade orange chicken recipe as good as take out. A great side for rice or noodles. Sub the chicken for paneer or tofu for a vegetarian version. The perfect recipe for anyone in India or abroad missing that specific shopping-mall comfort food fix, making it a great alternative to standard Indo-Chinese chili chicken.

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Right before the lockdown started in India, I had a sudden craving for Panda express’ orange chicken. It’s been a while since I have eaten Panda express orange chicken, but along with their kung pao chicken it used to be a regular order whenever I visited Phoenix. The way we Indians have indianized chinese food, the same way in the US there is american chinese food, and Panda Express did it quite well.

Now I can’t confidently say the orange chicken recipe I am sharing today is a Panda express copycat recipe- it has been 4 years since I last ate at Panda express but its a recipe that we enjoyed nonetheless. Panda Express is yet to open their outlet in India. I saw this copycat recipe  here and after reading the reviews and feedback and other online copycat panda express orange chicken recipes, I tweaked it to make an orange chicken version I like.

The one good thing that has come out of the lockdown is that our meat consumption has come down. I know it might be weird to make a note of that on a chicken based recipe- but well it is what it is. We haven’t fully converted to being vegetarian or vegan, but both A and I had been discussing how we should not be consuming the amount of non veg we had been consuming. Thanks to the lockdown and the non availability of meat products near us, we cooked more vegetable and legume centric dishes. But now and then we did miss our chicken and mutton/pork dishes. Once we got hold of a meat delivery guy, we ordered some for the house. And one of the first things that I made with the chicken was a repeat of this orange chicken to test the recipe out for the blog.

What is orange chicken?

Orange Sauce is a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, orange zest and orange juice that is cooked and thickened in a pan. Boneless chicken pieces are dipped in egg and then coated with a cornflour-flour mix before deep frying it. The deep fried battered chicken is then added to the thickened sauce, and your orange chicken is ready. This orange chicken is great as a side with rice or noodles.

Feel free to add veggies like broccoli, or snow peas to the chicken if you like.

Tips for the Crispiest Homemade Orange Chicken

Getting that perfect, shatteringly crisp crust—just like takeout—comes down to a few specific techniques. If you want to nail this on the first try, keep these essential steps in mind:

1. Don’t Skip the Brine

Before you even touch the flour, take a few extra minutes to brine your chicken pieces. A simple soak in lightly salted water (or a splash of buttermilk if you have it) ensures that even chicken breast stays incredibly juicy and tender on the inside, even after it hits the hot oil.

2. The “Wet Hand, Dry Hand” Coating Method

To keep your fingers from turning into a clumpy, battered mess, use the separate-hand technique:

• The Wet Hand: Use one hand only to pick up the brined chicken chunks and dip them into the egg wash.

• The Dry Hand: Use your other hand to lift the chicken out of the egg, drop it into the cornflour-flour mixture, and toss it until coated.

Keeping your hands strictly designated as “wet” and “dry” saves you from constantly washing your hands and stops the coating from clumping up in the bowl.

3. Oil Temperature Matters

For the ultimate crunch without grease-logging, your frying oil needs to stay consistently around 175°C to 180°C (350°F to 355°F).

• If the oil is too cold, the coating will absorb the grease and turn soggy.

• If it’s too hot, the outside will burn before the chicken cooks through.

• Pro tip: Fry in small batches so you don’t drop the oil temperature too drastically.

4. Watch the Color (Avoid Overcooking!)

This trips up almost everyone: do not wait for the chicken to turn a deep golden brown while it’s still in the pan. Because the chicken keeps cooking from residual heat even after you pull it out , it will naturally darken a shade or two on the cooling rack. If you wait until it looks perfectly golden in the oil, it will be overcooked and dry by the time you toss it in the orange sauce. Take it out when it is a pale, crisp golden color.

5. Chicken Thigh or Breast

Boneless thigh meat works best, as it remains the juiciest, but you can also make this orange chicken with boneless breast meat.

MAKE THIS VEGETARIAN

You can sub paneer or tofu to make this orange chicken recipe vegetarian.

For the coating, mix the corn flour, flour, salt, pepper, 1 tbsp oil with a little water to make a smooth batter without any lumps. The batter should be of medium consistency- neither too thick nor too thin. Add the paneer to the batter, and when ready deep fry them till golden brown. Use the batter fried paneer instead of chicken in the recipe.

Serve this copycat orange chicken recipe with easy garlic noodles, or egg fried rice.