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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.
delicious, didn’t have honey but used maple syrup and that worked great. Will make again.
Hey there,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for trying it out!! ?xx
Delicious! Everyone enjoyed it. There was just the right amount of heat.
Hey there,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for trying it out! Have the best day:) xT
This recipe took me at least an hour from start to finish if I include the zesting and juicing. Several of the HBH recipes take me longer to make because there are so many ingredients in the meals I have chosen. BUT this and every other recipe I have made have been well worth the time! This orange chicken is incredible. My family is shocked by the “level up” of my cooking! 🙂 Thank you Tiegan!!!
*Tieghan! I was in a rush because I was so excuse to post about orange chicken! ?
Hi Amy,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for trying it out! Sorry this took you longer than expected. Have the best day:) xT
Hi, We just ate this for dinner. Yummy! I used low sodium soy sauce and we both thought it was good, not too salty. I put it over left over brown rice I had, served it with steamed broccoli. Next time I think I can be more organized and make it faster by having the sauce made already. I think I used more zest than called for and I could taste orange throught the tender chicken. Really good.
Hey Linda,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed! xx
Delicious! Better than homemade. I used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce as my husband can’t tolerate soy very well and found the salt level to be appropriate. I did add a little corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce, but mostly because I was impatient, I’m sure it would have thickened up on its own. Will make again!
Hi Alison,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed! xx
Delicious. Nice crispy tender chicken with a nice orange flavor. Will be making this again. Added some corn starch to the sauce to help thicken it up. Added steamed broccoli. Husband really enjoyed it too!!
Hi Andrea,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for trying it out! Have the best day:) xT
So delicious! Love takeout inspired recipes and this honestly tasted better 🙂
Hey Steph,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have the best weekend!☀️ xx
On the positive side, the chicken is tender. It is not cripsy as it looks in the pictures, and not as flavorful as had hoped. Fortunately, it was a very simple recipe which I followed to the letter.
Hi Susan,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. Please let me know if I can help in anyway. xT
Made this….loved it! Interestingly, the orange flavor did not come through as much as I expected. I live near Toronto, so all citrus is imported…so maybe because of the time of year or picked before it is really ripe enough? Nevertheless, the chicken was so tender…love the heat…would definitely make it again!
Hi Patricia,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Sorry to hear about the orange flavor! Have the best weekend!☀️ xx
Can you make ahead and freeze?
Hi Carolyn,
Yes, that will work for you! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
After doctoring the sauce, not bad. The issue was that it was WAY too salty with 1/3 cup of soy. I will make it again, but next time use 1/4 c or less in the sauce. I ended up putting in 2 1/2 c of orange juice to help dilute the saltiness and save it. Had to thicken it w cornstarch slurry, but it was much better. I otherwise followed recipe to a T and chicken was really tender and similar to PF Chang’s-type recipe. I strongly recommend reducing the soy.
Hi there,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, so sorry you found this to be salty. xTieghan
Made this dinner tonight and it was fabulous!
Hi Lindsay,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I am so glad it was a hit! Thanks for sharing your review!? xT
This sauce was so flavorful. Any tips on keeping the texture crunchy?
Hi Courtney,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! You could pop them under the broiler after you add the sauce to ensure crunchiness. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This turned out awesome! My first time dredging with cornstarch.. it tasted great even before the sauce. I wasn’t aware that’s what was used to make certain chinese dishes crispy. Sauce was great and thickened up perfectly once the chicken was mixed in. My family loved it.
Hi DJ,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I am so glad it was a hit! Thanks for sharing your review!? xT
This had really yummy flavor. And I loved the dredge in cornstarch, it gave a great crisp to the chicken.
Hi Noell,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I am so glad it was a hit! Thanks for sharing your review!? xT
So delicious! My picky 4 year old tried his hardest to hate it, but even he was asking for more! 🙂
Hey Amy,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving it a try!! Have the best day:) xx
It’s so hard to find a good orange chicken recipe! This one was excellent! Tasted just like a dish from a restaurant. Your recipes are always a big hit with my family. Thank you!
Hey Amanda,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for making it! xxT