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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.
Favorite! This was so fresh and soooo comforting all at once! 10/10 !
Hi Eric,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
I made this dish last night, and everyone enjoyed it. My son commented that the orange flavor was “just right.” That said, my sauce was nowhere near as dark as the photos. I went back over the recipe and am not sure what I could have done differently — maybe use darker honey? Aesthetics aside, the flavor was great! Thanks!
Hey Renee,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! It may have just needed to simmer longer:) xx
A hit! What a delicious dish. We served it with rice and steamed broccoli. I might have made too much sauce for how much chicken I had, but it was nice to have the extra sauce for drizzling over everything on our plates. Will make again!
Hi Jackie,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Oh yum! I feel like a healthier version of Chinese and much more flavorful too. Not too salty like a lot of Chinese or Asian inspired dishes. Everyone in our family loved it and will definitely make it again. Great flavors and we served with some steamed broccoli on the side. I think next time I may add a little orange zest on top for garnish. Although my photos will never match Tieghen’s – beautifully presented dish as well.
Hi Renee,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Delicious recipe! Thank you! ?
Hi Danielle,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Amazing. Super easy and very tasty. My family loved it and so did I. I added a bit more ginger and garlic (my family loves them), served it with veggie chow mein, rice and an asian inspired salad. What a great meal
Hi Kimberly,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Another fantastic meal. I was nervous because my chicken got stuck pretty good to my cast iron skillet, but after adding all the liquid and boiling it, it all came loose. Such yummy flavor!
Hi Kristen,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
This is amazing! It has so much flavor.
Hi Allie,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Made this for dinner tonight and it is so flipping good! Easy to make too, which is a bonus on a work night. Definitely going to make again
Hi Erin,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Great looking dish. The only thing is I don’t have rice vinegar. I do have both mirin and cooking sake. Would any of those be a good substitute
Hi Roger,
The mirin should work well for you! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it!! xTieghan
Can you make any substitutes with orange marmalade? I have a jar in my fridge I am trying to repurpose.
Hi Lauren,
I’ve not tried this using orange marmalade so I am not sure on how to advise for this. If you give it a try, let me know! I hope you love the recipe:) xTieghan
Made it tonight and it turned out great. Will definitely make it again, plus I now have a second use for my citrus reamer.
Hi Diane,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
This recipe is delicious. So much flavor. We didn’t even mind having it for leftovers ?
Hi Sue,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Chicken broth? The video on insta doesn’t make mention of it and your pre-recipe write up doesn’t either but all of a sudden you have it listed in the ingredients and it the recipe. Are people making it with the broth or not?
Hi there,
You can follow the recipe as written and use the chicken broth:) I hope you love the dish, please let me know if you give it a try!! xTieghan
Hi! My husband cannot have chicken or vegetable broth, could water be used as a substitute or is there something else you would recommend?
Hi Kailey,
Yes, I would use water. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Easy and straightforward recipe. The cornstarch/frying method worked great in the avocado oil. I wonder though if you’re supposed to discard oil after frying chicken? My sauce never got super thick even after boiling the instructed time but it was thick enough to coat the chicken. Subtle orange flavor was really nice, just a hint of sweet. I’d say you’d need quite a bit more honey to be on the restaurant level of sweetness with orange chicken. Overall, great recipe that I’ll make again.
Hi Kaitlyn,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Yes, you will want to discard the oil. You can definitely boil longer to thicken the sauce more. xT
I was confused on that point as well, btw steps 4-5. My oil looked pretty awful so I started step 5 in a clean pan, but that meant re-adding cornstarch to thicken, and as we all know you must dissolve cornstarch first in liquid to prevent lumps. I used a bit of orange juice then added that to the sauce. Dinner turned out great. Loved the freshness.
Thanks for giving the recipe a try Katherine! Sorry for any confusion, you do not need to clean the pan:)