Oranges taste great on their own; I hardly know anyone who doesn’t like them. They are a mind-blowing combination with chocolate, second only to mint, and are used extensively in desserts. But never in a million years had I expected to fall head-over-heals in love with oranges in an entrée. I’ve been obsessed with Orange Chicken ever since I tried it some four odd years ago at a Chinese Restaurant.

Like all recipes I’m obsessed with, I tried recreating this sweet and sour concoction with a hint (subjective) of spice last weekend. After some experimentation, I got the flavor profile I was looking for; in retrospect, I should have left out a few ingredients that gave the dish some outlandish undertones, a clashing after-taste, if you may. The recipe below doesn’t include those ingredients so you should be able to enjoy a mouth-watering Orange Chicken. I strongly recommend serving this gravy with Chinese Fried Rice (leave me a comment if you want me to post a recipe).

Ingredients:

• ½ kg chicken (cut into one-inch cubes)
• ½ cup + ½ cup fresh orange juice (I used navel oranges)
• ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp fresh orange zest
• 5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 1” cube of ginger (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp chili sauce
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• I tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ tsp white pepper powder
• ½ tsp chili flakes (optional)
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp chicken powder
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 5-7 dried red chilies (optional – I used African bird’s eye chili)
• 1 tbsp peanuts (salted and roasted)
• 2-3 spring onion stalks (one-inch pieces)
• ½ green bell pepper (medium sized – cut into cubes)
• 1 onion (medium sized – cut into cubes)
• ¼ tsp MSG (a.k.a. ajino moto)
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• Pinch of salt (optional)
• 2 tsp honey (optional)

Method:

1. Mix chicken, black pepper and corn flour and set it aside
2. Heat sesame oil in a pan and add in garlic and ginger
3. After a minute or so, add chicken to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes
4. Mix in chili flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, MSG, and white pepper and let it sit for a minute
5. Add in ½ cup orange juice and lemon juice and let it cook for 2 minutes
6. Add soy sauce, chili sauce and vinegar to the chicken and cook on high flame
7. Once the sauces have dried out a bit, add in peanuts, dried chilies and the remaining ½ cup orange juice to it
8. When the juice evaporates again, add in Worcestershire sauce, chicken powder, green peppers, onions and the spring onion
9. At this point, taste the chicken and see if you need salt (as the sauces used are already salty) or honey (if you feel the chicken is a bit on the sour side – mainly because of the oranges used)
10. Give the chicken a good mix and turn off the flame
11. Take out in a serving bowl and garnish with some fresh orange zest

Serve without waiting another second – make sure you have the Fried Rice ready beforehand. Any comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Enjoy!