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Happy New Year’s, everyone!
I hope that your 2014 is off to a terrific start. And hopefully, a delicious and healthy start!
So for all of you new years resolution folks who are out there scanning the world wide webosphere looking for lighter recipes after a holiday season full of sweets, you’ve come to the right place. Because I am dedicating theentire month of January this year to sharing healthy recipes with you. And I am stoked to kick things off with a lightened-up Chinese food classic — Skinny Orange Chicken.
This version packs all of the amazing sweet and savory orange flavor of the restaurant-style version, but with only a fraction of the calories and fat. And it is naturally sweetened with honey. And it can be served over rice or (my favorite) quinoa. And it can be made in just 20 minutes from start to finish.
Interested? You should be. :)
The main key to lightening up this restaurant classic is that we simply saute the chicken instead of fry it. The chicken is sauteed until golden and drenched in an orange chicken sauce anyway, so I guarantee you won’t even miss the frying! Plus, it saves us lots of unnecessary fat and calories in an already delicious dish.
And as I said, this skinny orange chicken recipe can literally be made in about 20 minutes. So here’s what you need to make it happen.
First, begin by cutting your chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Mine were roughly 1-inch cubed. Then season them with lots of salt and pepper for extra flavor.
Next, we make the rockstar of this recipe — the orange chickensauce. This sauce really could not be simpler. Simply whisk all of the ingredients together along with some cornstarch (for thickening), and you’re ready to go.
Next, saute the chicken in some olive oil until it is nearly cooked through. Be sure to let it rest in the pan a bit while cooking so that the sides can get nice and browned.
Then pour in the sauce, which should come to a boil within a minute or so. Let it boil for about 1-2 minutes, or until it’s nice and thickened.
Then top the chicken with some extra orange zest, green onions and toasted sesame seeds, and you’re good to go!
If you want to go the traditional route, you can serve this orange chicken recipe over rice. But I’m a big fan of eating stir-fry recipes with quinoa. So I whipped up a quick batch for this recipe, made (as always) with chicken broth for extra flavor.
I mean, really, just look at that gorgeous dish!
So much great flavor, and so little unnecessary fat and calories from frying the chicken. I’m pretty positive that even your friends or family members who usually prefer the fried version will go “poco loco” over this dish. :)
Stay tuned for more healthy recipes to come this month on Gimme Some Oven. And cheers to a great 2014 ahead!
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Skinny Orange Chicken
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star4.9 from 54 reviews
This homemade orange chicken recipe comes together in just 20 minutes, and is a crazy delicious! (And healthier than the restaurant version!)
Ingredients
Scale
Orange Chicken Ingredients:
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
orange chicken sauce (ingredients below)
toppings: thinly-sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, orange zest
Orange Chicken Sauce Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. white pepper
zest of one orange
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
(Optional: Quinoa Ingredients)
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
To Make The Orange Chicken:
Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute for about 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and nearly cooked through.
Pour in the orange chicken sauce, and stir to combine. Let the sauce come to a boil, then boil for an additional minute or two until thickened. Remove from heat and serve immediately over quinoa or rice. Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds and additional orange zest.
To Make The Orange Chicken Sauce:
Whisk all ingredients together until combined. If you would like the sauce to be even sweeter, add an extra 2-4 tablespoons of honey.
To Make The Quinoa:
You can see my step-by-step photo tutorial for how to cook quinoa here http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/how-to-cook-quinoa-recipe/.
In most countries in the western hemisphere, the names "orange chicken", "orange peel chicken", "orange-flavored chicken", and "tangerine chicken" are typically used for this particular dish. This dish may have originally come from the "tangerine chicken" dish from Hunan, China.
Orange chicken's flavors focus on the tang of oranges, which is complemented by spices like dried red chili flakes or chili sauce for a little kick. Sweet and Sour Chicken can be spicier, with chili paste or extra spices added for a stronger taste.
In a small bowl, mix together chicken stock, soy sauce, orange juice, brown sugar, and orange zest until sugar is dissolved. Whisk together AP flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Drizzle in some of the extra chicken marinade and mix to create more craggily bits.
Compared to General Tso's, orange chicken usually has a lighter-colored sweet, sour, savory glaze. It's not as spicy-hot because dried red chiles aren't as common or used as heavily in this dish. All recipes ask for orange in some form — juice, zest, dried peel, or a combination thereof.
Trader Joe's award-winning Mandarin-orange chicken was just as delicious as actual takeout. Trader Joe's Mandarin-orange chicken is one of the brand's most popular items — it's so beloved by shoppers that it's earned a spot in the chain's Product Hall of Fame.
Orange Chicken: Another popular Chinese-American dish, orange chicken features a rich, citrus-infused sauce that gives it a distinct flavor. Mandarin chicken, on the other hand, may incorporate citrus elements but typically emphasizes a balance of sweet and savory flavors without the prominent citrus notes.
For conventional oven: preheat oven to 400°F and thaw unopened sauce pouch in a bowl of hot water. Empty 1 bag of chicken onto a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes, if desired, turn chicken halfway through cooking for even browning. Then either drizzle sauce over finished chicken or use as a dipping sauce.
If you've ever had a Costco rotisserie chicken you know just how juicy, salty, and savory this bird is. There's actually a reason behind this. To get its signature, addictive flavor, Costco injects its chickens with a salt solution.
Continue cooking until the chicken is no longer pink, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 1 to 2 hours.
The original “Orange Chicken” had no breading around each piece of chicken and the sauce was made of leftover orange or lemon peels cooked with soy sauce, chilis and garlic. The sauce had a citrus element, but it wasn't as pronounced or sweet like you would think of today.
Similar to general Tso's chicken, orange chicken uses the same crispy chicken, just with a different sauce. The combination of sweet and savory made it a hit.
What is orange sauce made of? Homemade orange sauce is heavenly! This sweet sauce is made of orange juice, brown sugar, pure maple syrup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, minced garlic, and minced ginger.
The original “Orange Chicken” had no breading around each piece of chicken and the sauce was made of leftover orange or lemon peels cooked with soy sauce, chilis and garlic. The sauce had a citrus element, but it wasn't as pronounced or sweet like you would think of today.
Sesame Chicken, General Tso, and Orange Chicken look quite similar and share some common ingredients, which can make it difficult for some to choose between them. Chicken: Each dish uses chunks of boneless chicken meat (usually thigh).
Although they're both made with an orange-based sauce, mandarin chicken and orange chicken are different dishes. Mandarin chicken is typically sweeter because it uses more dark brown sugar than orange chicken. The sauce for mandarin chicken also tends to be thicker and much stickier.
After eating oranges, most of us discard the skin, but orange peels are far too useful to be wasted. According to in vitro data from a study conducted by a scientist with the Agricultural Research Service and collaborators, orange peels are a rich source of carbohydrates with various health-promoting qualities.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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