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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.
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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
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.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Could you do this with tofu? How would you get it crispy
Hi Sarah,
You could try to bake the tofu and make the sauce separately. I really don’t work with tofu so I am not sure the best way to make it crispy. Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan
Absolutely delicious!! This is the best Asian meal I have ever made, and I’ve tried often. One of the best things about this recipe is that you do not have to buy a lot of special ingredients to make it. Very user-friendly! Thank you.
Hi Jenny,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving it a try!! Have the best day:) xx
This was delicious!!! It’s magical what happens at the end when you add the chicken to the sauce. Beautiful!
Hi Jennifer,
Wonderful!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was a winner! xTieghan
How did you get the chicken such a dark orange? My chicken was delicious, but very light in colour.
Hi Julie,
The color is from the sauce:) Thanks for giving the recipe a try, let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
One of our favorites!! So easy and delicious!
Hi Taylor,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it!! Have the best week:) xTieghan
This flavor is definitely there, but it was pretty salty with that much soy. Any suggestions to help cut down on that?
I used low sodium broth as suggested. Did anyone else experience this?
Overall, it was amazing and I’ll be making it again based on advice given. I also sautéed broccoli, onions and red bell pepper to mix into it. So good!
Hi there,
So sorry to hear your found this salty. You can always use low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos to reduce this. I hope this helps for next time! xT
So so so good! This was the recipe that pushed me to buy the cookbooks as well.
Well done Tieghan!
Hey there,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
Could you use shrimp instead?
Hey Pam,
Totally, just reduce your cooking time to accommodate the shrimp. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Made it today and we loved it! Much better than take out!
Hey Ines,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for trying it out!! xx
Yet another successful one. Made this last friday. Was delicious. Spicy and a little sweet…was told “this is the best Chinese food I’ve ever had.” I used a tsp of chili flakes so it was quite spicy. I think 1/2 tsp probably enough. Only change I made was using Grapeseed oil instead of avocado. Served it with rice noodles…was sooo good the next day too, just a little less crispy. I had never fried anything breaded in cornstarch before so I was nervous but it turned out really well. And the sauce thickened perfectly. I don’t know what people’s issues were but if you want it to thicken just leave it to cook for a while and keep stirring.
Hey Nicole,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for trying it out!! xx
I’m going to attempt to make this recipe for dinner tonight. I don’t have any chili flakes… substitutions?? Thanks!
Hi Nikki,
Just skip them:) I hope you love the recipe, let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
This looks wonderful. Can I use wok?
Hey Sandy,
Sure, a wok would be a great way to cook this. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
This turned out amazing! Took a little longer that expected between cooking the chicken in batches and measuring out the sauce. Still totally worth the time! Will definitely be repeating!
Hey Kari,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! ?xTieghan
Really yummy, but I couldn’t get the sauce to thicken.
Hey Danielle,
Happy Wednesday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! Try adding cornstarch to the sauce next time. xx
I’ve made this recipe twice! Absolutely delicious. We have a tangelos tree and I used fresh juice from them and the sauce was amazing. Love this recipe, it’s a keeper. And it’s a beautiful looking dish!
Hey Jean,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan