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This Spicy Orange Sesame Chicken is classic, but made at home for a more wholesome approach…and with a little extra sauce. The chicken is pan-fried in a small amount of avocado oil until crispy, then tossed in a yummy sesame orange sauce with fresh orange juice and chili flakes. It’s a little sweet and a little spicy with such great flavor. This is best served over steamed rice with extra green onions on top. A fun homemade take on a popular takeout dish.
One of my favorite things to do is take our favorite takeout dishes and try my best to recreate them at home. There’s just something so fun about homemade takeout, especially when you live in a little town as we do. Our takeout options are more limited, so sometimes the only option is to just make “takeout” at home!
After I made orange cauliflower a few weeks back, my brothers were all over my case to make a more classic crispy orange chicken. They actually loved the cauliflower variation but said that nothing beats the real orange chicken.
I have a hard time saying no to those guys, so I created this recipe pretty much immediately after they requested it. And geez, you guys, this is so good. Just like your favorite takeout, but made at home, and with more wholesome ingredients too!
Traditionally orange chicken is deep-fried and tossed in a spicy, sweet, and tangy orange sauce. The sauce is usually made with a decent amount of sugar, in addition to orange juice and a bit of soy.
To keep this dish and the cooking simple and easy, I made some simple swaps. I used avocado oil for cooking, honey to sweeten, and tamari for the soy (tamari is just gluten-free soy sauce).
But the flavors are ALL there. Lots of orange, a touch of sweetness, and a kick of spice.
Details
I start with the chicken and toss it simply with an egg white, a splash of soy sauce, a pinch of peppers, plus some fresh orange zest. Then dredge the chicken through cornstarch. The cornstarch gives the chicken just the right amount of breading to crisp it up. It also helps the sauce to thicken.
When you’re dredging the chicken through the cornstarch don’t stress if it starts clumping a little on the chicken. Those clumps will get crispy and be delicious in the sweet orange sauce.
Then the sauce…this really is the heart of the recipe. Start with lots of fresh orange zest and juice. Yes, you can use already squeezed orange juice, but with citrus in-season, I would highly recommend fresh juice. Nothing can compare!
So mix the orange zest and juice with tamari or soy sauce, vinegar, and honey. As I mentioned, the honey replaces the sugar usually found in orange chicken. It works perfectly and I love the small amount of flavor it adds to the sauce.
Cook the chicken in avocado oil, which is awesome for high heat cooking. Once the chicken is crispy, pull it out of the skillet and add lots of garlic and ginger, plus some chili flakes (use to your liking, of course).
Pour in the sauce then add the chicken back. Let the sauce bubble around the chicken until it thickens. Simple and quick!
Serve
Serve the chicken with steamed rice and toasted sesame seeds for a complete meal. The boys all agreed, this dish is “fire”, which in their language means REALLY GOOD.
That should tell you what you need to know right there…you gotta give this dish a try…plus it’s just fun!
Looking for other takeout-style recipes? Here are a few to try:
Lastly, if you make this Spicy Orange Sesame Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Spicy Orange Sesame Chicken
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 425 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- black pepper
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
Orange Sauce
- 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup fresh orange juice + 2 tablespoons zest
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/2-1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- green onions and sesame seeds, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, egg white, tamari/soy sauce, orange zest, and pepper. Toss well to coat. In a separate bowl, add the cornstarch.2. Dredge the chicken through the cornstarch to coat. 3. In a glass jar, whisk together the broth, orange juice, tamari/soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey. 4. Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, working in batches, cook until golden all around, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet. 5. To the skillet, add the garlic, ginger, and chili flakes. Cook 1-2 minutes. Pour in the orange sauce. Bring to a boil, boil 3-4 minutes, then add the chicken. Toss with the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens around the chicken, about 5 minutes. 6. Serve the chicken and sauce over steamed rice with sesame seeds and green onions.
Ok but not my favourite home made orange chicken. Soya sauce taste overpowering orange
Hi Linda,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xT
Went looking for recipe I used last year and it was in your earlier cookbook – Kai’s orange chicken – old one much better for me – thanks for all your great recipes
Thanks so much Linda! I hope you love this recipe!! xx
This dish is outstanding!! It’s our favorite orange chicken. It has so much flavor.
Hey Karen,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xT
Question! Could this be made ahead and frozen or would it get soggy?
Thanks!
Hey Kailyn,
My only concern is that it would dry out when you are trying to reheat it. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Delish. Kids loved it ❤️
Hey Krystal,
Happy New Year!!🎆 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for giving it a try and sharing your review! xT
Wow! Soooooo good! Could you use store bought orange juice? curious!
Hey Colleen,
Happy New Year!!🎆 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for giving it a try and sharing your review! Yes, that would work well for you! xT
This was SO superior to garbage takeout. Not only was it healthier, but it didn’t taste like pie filling. I’m going to pair it with brown rice next time to add some fiber. Eat your heart out Panda X.
Hey Ben,
I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Happy New Year! 🎊🎈
This was absolutely delicious thank you! I was wondering if there was an oven/baked version or non-fried? Just thinking of options.
Hey Kristin,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Thanks for your comment! Sure, you could bake this in the oven, that would work well. xx
Made this a couple evenings ago! We loved it! You can taste the orange but it’s not overwhelming. We added this recipe to our fav dinners list 🙂
Hey Cassidy,
Happy Holidays!!☃️ I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT
We have an egg allergy in our house, is there anything you could use as a substitute?
Hey Emily,
You could use buttermilk, that would also work well for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Sooooo good and fresh! Have made it multiple times, my kids eat it too 🙂
Hey Kari,
I truly appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was enjoyed!❄️ xx
Wow. I just made this and it turned out amazing. The only thing I am going to do different next time is double up on the orange zest in the beginning with the chicken only because I really like that orange taste. Awesome recipe!!
Hey Rebecca,
Happy Friday!👻 Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try and sharing your review! I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
Looks delish! Making tonight, wanted to know if you remove the oil along with the chicken from the skillet or leave it in? Thanks!
Hi Kiera,
You can just leave that:) I hope this dish turns out amazing for you, let me know if you give it a try! xT
Awesome just like it is, very punchy orange flavor. My gf actually said it was too orange, I disagree, but it’s definitely not your food court stuff. Tonite I’m going to try leaving the zest out of the coating and just use freshly squeezed juice, see how that does.
Hi Jeff,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a ton for making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad it was a winner:)
This turned out great for me. I baked on convection for 25 minutes. Made the sauce in a wok with a cornstarch slurry to thicken without reducing the sauce much. Also used frozen orange juice concentrate. Husband tasted sauce and said he could only taste soy, so I added more concentate. That did the trick. As a retired person I made everything ahead, sauce and egg white marinated chicken. All those dishes washed. Then when I am ready to cook, rice is started. Seasoned some rice with a little soy and sesame oil. Was a quick clean up. Thank you, great recioe.
Hi Bev,
Awesome!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. Hope you’re off to a great Saturday! xT
Thank you for the recipe. I like that it’s not overly sweet but you get all the orange taste without it being bitter.
Hi Jessica,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:)
This recipe was so good and definitely hit the take-out but at home craving. I used to love this as a child/college student but I don’t love to eat fried take out food anymore since I don’t really don’t know all the ingredients – but this totally solves the problem! There were a lot of steps to make the sauce, but because I was only cooking for two – we halved the chicken amount and saved half the sauce for another day. So that meal is going to be quick and speedy! I really loved the flavors (though I may have slightly reduced the honey and slightly increased the chili flakes). The cornstarch coating on the chicken turned out perfect too. Really this is an amazing recipe all my family members have asked me to make for them already based off of photos!
Hi Deb,
Happy Tuesday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! I am so glad it was enjoyed:) Thanks so much for your kind message?