Panda Express Orange Chicken

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 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.

Panda express orange chicken

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 V and 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 for orange chicken 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.

Copycat orange chicken recipe

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.

MAKING ORANGE CHICKEN

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

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.

TO MAKE IT VEGETARIAN

You can sub paneer or tofu to make it 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.

Copycat orange chicken recipe

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Thai Basil Chilli Tofu with Brown Rice

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This Thai Basil Chilli Tofu served with brown rice is a great healthy vegan and gluten free recipe.

Thai Basil Chilli Tofu

Its unfortunate that the reason why I am back to posting is because the world is in such a sad state of affairs. Thanks to cancelled shoots, self-quarantine and social distancing, I have got a lot of time to spend in the kitchen- bake, cook, experiment with recipes and style and shoot the food I am cooking just for personal reasons- exactly the way it used to be when I started the blog.

Today I am sharing this easy recipe for Thai Basil chili Tofu with brown rice. Its a great, easy to put together recipe, and does not require too many ingredients. For indians, who do not have a stock of tofu, you can substitute paneer. While I would recommend thai basil, in case you don’t have that regular basil works just fine.

You will need firm tofu for the recipe. Additionally I add a heavy weight on the tofu for 15-20 minutes to drain any excess water, so that its easier to fry and flavors are absorbed better. I used brown rice here, but jasmine rice/basmati rice will also work. This meal is vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, quick and a satisfying healthy meal to put together for the family. If you get to try it, please do let me know. Tag me in your photos on instagram, or facebook.

Thai basil Chili Tofu

Thai Basil Chilli Tofu with Brown Rice
 
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An easy vegan and gluten free weeknight meal. Pair this thai basil chili tofu with whatever grain you like best for a delicious meal!
Author:
Recipe type: dinner, lunch, quick, easy
Cuisine: Thai, Asian
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
  • 500 grams firm tofu
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
  • ½ cup thai basil
  • 2 tsp, plus 2 tsp oil
For the sauce:
  • 2 tbsp schezwan sauce
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sriracha
  • ½ tsp cornstarch
  • 1 cup water
Instructions
  1. Press the tofu with a heavy object like a dutch oven/cast iron pan. I generally place a clean thin towel between the tofu and the pan, and place the tofu on a marble chopping board/plate. Keep the tofu pressed for 15-20 minutes. Chop the tofu into cubes.
  2. Heat oil in a non stick pan. Fry the tofu cubes until lightly brown on all sides, flipping them occasionally. Season the tofu, and transfer to bowl.
  3. In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients listed under sauce.
  4. In the same pan, add another 2 tsp oil. Add the ginger and garlic and saute till the ginger garlic start changing color.
  5. Add in the tofu and sauce toss them quickly until all the tofu is coated with sauce. Remove from heat and add in the thai basil, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.
  6. Serve over brown rice or your choice of grain. Garnish with green onions.
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Chicken Noodle Salad

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If you love asian salads, this chicken noodle salad with poached chicken, a spicy sesame oil dressing and noodles will become a favorite of yours.

This quick and easy chicken noodle salad with poached chicken, a spicy sesame oil dressing and noodles will become a favorite of yours.

I am trying my best to be more active on the blog. It had helped that work had been light the last couple of days, giving me enough time to spend in the kitchen to experiment or revisit old recipes on the blog and review/reshoot them. Last week besides experimenting with this asian chicken noodle salad recipe, I also revisited the flourless chocolate cake recipe from the blog archives and baked the white chocolate cranberry pistachio cookies to send to my brother and sis-in-law. I also made chocolate chip cookies and baked a barbie cake for my niece using the sponge cake recipe here and the filling frosting recipe from here. Yes, I was busy in the kitchen.

This week I was again traveling, so couldn’t experiment much but I did try a lot of new dishes and have a few things I would like to try in my kitchen. While working with other people’s food for client shoots has its own perks, I do love styling and shooting my own recipes. I also do enjoy the creative freedom I have, although I am lucky most of my clients trust me enough to give me a free reign.

This asian flavored chicken noodle salad with poached chicken, a spicy sesame oil dressing and noodles will become a favorite of yours.

I have been sharing pointers on styling and photography on my instagram stories. I have always found it helpful when other people post Behind the scenes and now that I have some sense of what works and what doesn’t (learning never stops), I thought its my time to share what I have learnt. If you are interested in knowing more about the photographs I shoot do follow me on instagram (@muddychoux).

This chicken noodle salad is adapted from a recipe on Gourmet Travelers app. I loved the sound of it, but I had to make a few adjustments since I didn’t have quite a few of the important ingredients called for in the recipe. Either way the chicken noodle salad came out delicious. I love the heating of the oil with the star anise- what a wonderful aroma it gave to the oil. Its something I am looking forward to trying more in my recipes.

If you try this recipe or any other recipe from the blog, please do tag me on your creations on instagram, facebook,  twitter or leave a comment here.

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