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A serving dish with orange chicken and a dish of it over rice

Orange Chicken

Jon Kung's recipe for American-style orange chicken, made with an orange-soda-based sauce and served with rice.
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Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Chinese
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

Chicken and Marinade

  • 6 pieces dried tangerine peel chopped
  • ¼ cup Shaoxing wine
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp ras el hanout
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • ¼ tsp MSG
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
  • 2 lbs boneless skin-on chicken thighs cut into roughly 1-inch cubes

Orange Sauce

  • 3 12 oz cans orange soda such as Faygo
  • 2 tbsp Chinese red vinegar
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 3 star anise pods
  • 2 black cardamom pods cracked
  • 4 pieces dried orange or tangerine peel ground or minced

To Fry

  • neutral oil
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups potato starch
  • kosher salt

To Serve

  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 4 garlic cloves grated
  • 2 thumb-size pieces fresh ginger peeled and minced or grated
  • 2-4 dried Szechuan chilies chopped
  • 5 whole chilies optional
  • 2 tbsp Szechuan peppercorns
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • steamed rice

Instructions
 

Chicken and Marinade

  • Place the tangerine peel in a spice grinder and pulverize it to a powder. You should end up with 2 tsp – put it in a large bowl with the wine, soy sauce, ras el hanout, cumin, MSG, salt and white pepper and mix until well combined. Add the chicken and toss to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.

Orange Sauce

  • In a medium saucepan, combine the soda, vinegar, sugar, paprika, turmeric, star anise, cardamom and orange peel. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce is thick and syrupy but still pourable, about 30 minutes, depending on the strength of your burner and the size and shape of your saucepan. Set the sauce aside. (The sauce can be cooled and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.)

To Fry

  • Fill a wok or Dutch oven with oil to a depth of 3 inches and heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350°F. Set a large wire rack nearby.
  • Combine the flour, potato starch and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Working in batches, toss the chicken pieces in the flour mixture to coat well, then carefully add them to the hot oil (don’t overcrowd the pot). Adjust the heat to maintain a temperature between 350° and 375°F and cook just until the chicken is very light golden brown, about 3 minutes (it won’t be cooked through). Use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer the chicken to the rack to drain. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
  • Again, working in batches, return the parcooked chicken to the hot oil and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until it becomes a deeper golden brown – at this point, it’ll be cooked through. Transfer the fully cooked chicken back to the rack to drain, and season with salt before it fully dries. Repeat with the remaining parcooked pieces.

To Serve

  • Once the chicken is cooked, heat a wok or very large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil, garlic, ginger, chopped chilies, whole chilies (if using) and Szechuan peppercorns and stir for only about 10 seconds before adding the dark soy sauce and the wine. Stir in the orange sauce and heat until it is thick and bubbling, about 5 minutes, then add the fried chicken and toss to evenly coat with the sauce. Serve immediately with rice.